L I L I T H
by A L P H A - H U N T R E S S
Summary: According to the dying wishes of her Mother, an orphaned love child is brought down to Rapture by her biological Father who fights to keep her safe from harm during the downfall of Ryan's Paradise only for her to find her destiny among its ruins.
1. Lila

**Lila Hayes – Forget About Him**

The family told me 'he's going off to war 'forget about him' so, though it killed me inside, I forgot about him…until he came back. Reo is the only man I have ever loved and now I can't have him I'm 'engaged to be married' I'm a fool, I'm so sorry, Reo.

**Lila Hayes – Pre-Wedding Jitters?**

Pre-wedding jitters? Those are the LEAST of my problems. I am in love with a man and getting married to an entirely different man. I suppose it isn't a shock, most women scarcely get the choice but I always imagined I'd get the luxury to choose as long as he wasn't a total wastrel or a scandalous reprobate. To make matters worse Reo has returned from the front lines, honorably discharged of course and promptly accepts a job in security for MY FIANCE! Not only cannot I not have him but he is to be flaunted before my very eyes constantly – someone to be seen but never had. I don't know what I will feel like once he moves on and gets married…another woman will make him a fine wife but it won't be me…

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><p><strong>Fall – 1950<strong>

**United States East Coast**

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><p>"<em>The date of the Big Day when Ms. Lilian Haynes is to marry into the wealthy and enigmatic Ashrend family has not yet been released but the wedding is anticipated to take place in the Summer of 1951 in a public park where the whole of the city is invited to attend. However the reception following afterwards is a private ordeal, admittance being 'invite-only' making many wonder who will find themselves lucky enough to be present for the post-wedding well-wishes."<em>

Reox glanced over at the television but already his interest in the news message had faded, he wasn't really all that interested in hearing more, easily allowing the noisy stupor of the bar to drown out any further words of the newscast. The marriage, not his though in many ways he thought it should have been. Lila had been his woman, his love as long as he could remember, if she was getting married he'd always had expected that her wedding would be his own, that she'd be getting married to him. It wasn't from lack of trying that he wallowed in self-pity, he'd made an offer for her hand, an offer she'd smartly rejected. Lila had enough sense to say 'no' - aiming higher than he could ever hope to offer or provide. Lila had always been destined for great things being raised upon the cusp of the upper middle-class with looks like hers. Even recognizing the logic of her choice the rejection hurt, it hurt like a bitch especially after all they'd been through.

He'd been pining silently to himself ever since news of the engagement had been released. It shouldn't have surprised him, even though he'd always had every intention of marrying her, perhaps he should have prepared himself for the fact that when she went off to the luxury of 'college' she'd find a man, a knight in shining armor to sweep her off her feet. College, what a joke, Reo knew what it REALLY was. It wasn't a place for women to learn, it was a place for them to go find good prospective husbands, better than they could get among the high school graduates in public amongst the common man. She'd gone to school to find better than him regardless of how good they got along together; she'd gone to school to remove herself from him, to strike a better mark. If he knew this so well than why had he bothered trying to propose? He knew the answer to that too, he'd have NEVER forgave himself if he didn't try. Funny thing was now that he had he felt like a loser AND a fool – what a glorious combination.

His eyes flickered up the length of the bar, trying to decide if he should order another and put himself under. He decided against it, he had plenty of alcohol to do that at home and he preferred passing out in private not public. The last thing he needed was to live up to everyone's low opinion of him. At least he was still functioning enough to count his bills, he slammed them upon the bar and got up, pleased that he wasn't stumbling about as he stepped into the street proper. If only Lila had the sense to choose someone else, anyone else would have been better than his bloody client. With a strong, lithe medium sized build, impeccable physical fitness, and top notch marksmanship his line of work ran dangerous, he was a bodyguard, bodyguard to Skyler Ashrend – Lila's fiancée, no escaping the wedding for him. Except for time off he was suffocated by it, by the preparations and emotions, it was why he'd taken two bloody weeks off it. His back up had been called in and he'd taken a temporary 'leave of absence' that went utterly unnoticed by anyone. Nevertheless he knew that he'd have to go back and face it all. Maybe he'd ask for a transfer, if he had difficulty watching her as fiancée how would it be when she became THE wife? No way in fucking hell he wanted to find out.

So caught up in his thoughts he wasn't even paying attention as he rounded the corner on the second floor, heading back to his apartment colliding with the small fragile body of another individual, "Sorry," he mumbled as he recovered, side stepping. Only he wasn't able to walk away, he suddenly realized that the figure he'd ran into had caught onto him, using a hold on his shirt to support herself, definitely a female but damn it if that scent wasn't familiar, it was Lila!

He hauled her upright and set herself upon her feet, gently but firmly jerking her hands free of his clothing, "Why are you here? And more importantly without your own guards?"

"I came to see you, have you been alright? You've been gone for weeks."

"It's called a leave of absence, sweetheart," and damn it if the alcohol wasn't talking, making his choice of words ever careless. In all seriousness those words were over the line, he had no right to speak to her like that. If he meant them he was being 'too intimate' if he didn't he was being 'insolent' and 'impolite', he grimaced, "What are you doing here? And unescorted to boot?"

"I'm taking a leave of absence," god damn, if that wasn't something he loved about her, something he feared the rich and wealthy would see crushed out of her, that spirit.

"You don't get the luxury of that, YOU are getting married and therefore belong under the care of your 'husband-to-be' and you are going back now!"

Even though he was off duty it was worth more than his job if the Ashrend's found out their 'treasure' ran away, he knew it, and didn't attempt to bring her back. His employment paid well and he wanted a favorable recommendation and transfer that meant she had to go before she got them both into trouble. Reox took a hold of her hand and started hauling her down the stairs and back into the street, whether her protests all along the way, until she pulled away once they got

"Will you STOP? Slow down? Why have you been gone so long? Have you been alright?"

"How about we focus on you? How in the hell did you give the stiffs (bodyguards) the slip?"

"Puh-lease, you speak as if that is hard," it wouldn't be hard, not for Lila, unlike most females in the early 1950's she had acquired usage of her brain and actually attended school. Book smarts weren't the only thing she had going for her either, the woman could slap down logic like it was second nature to her.

"You would not have gotten by with it on my watch."

"They AREN'T you," that much was certain,

"That is right, they aren't. You still haven't answered my question."

"You haven't answered MINE. You are avoiding me aren't you?"

That question hardly necessitated an answer, Reox was never one to bandy words, he said what he wanted, meant what he said, his actions were the same way - blunt and obvious. Regardless he gave her a lie, maybe it would keep her from stalking him to his doorstep halfways drunk, well maybe more than halfways, "No, I wanted a vacation which you have just ended with these antics, now I have to haul you and my ass back to work early."

"We need to talk."

"WE need to do NOTHING."

"You haven't spoken or looked at me once since the engagement, are you telling me that is coincidence?"

"It isn't, rejection kind of hurts."

"Are you saying that you won't have anything to do with me because of that?"

"Let's get something straight, Lila, whatever we had cannot be ANYMORE, so the talking is pointless! You've made your choice no matter how BAD a choice I think and we KNOW it is. What you see between us now is as close and far as we are going to ever be, you made it that way. I am an employee, your husband my employer making you mine as well."

"Is that how you truly feel?"

Hell no it wasn't, even now he knew the alcohol wasn't the sole source of the burning within him. Try as he might he couldn't quell the feelings he felt for her, that impassive speech was the only defense he had and it was a poor one when he had her alone, in his arms. Worse yet she wasn't tense, she was at ease and comfortable. All at once impulse control went out the window and he wondered if she was second guessing, was that why she came to him now, tone so doubtful, touches so hesitant, heart so uncertain. If there was a chance of wooing her away from this 'unhappy' fate she was walking into he'd take that chance in an instant even if it meant the possibility of her rejecting him again. Rough arms ensnared her within his grasp as he brought his mouth hard against hers, the weight of it demanding hers to yield and it did, her body shivering within his embrace and her mouth melting beneath his with a sigh that was pure longing. His tongue pierced her mouth as her body settled against his, the rigid length of him pressing between her legs where he was sure they were both yearning for that unity, that completion.

"Lila?"

The voice penetrated the dark of the night, the haze of their passionate interlude and he pulled away from her, recovering more swiftly than she could as he turned to his employer, "Reox, Lila," her husband-to-be, his eyes roved over that of his fiancée, a precursory check that she seemed to pass, that they both did.

"I found her out and about on her own."

"I thank you for that, we we're so worried," he stepped forward, claiming Lila by bringing her into the folds of his arms, a proprietary hand upon her shoulder, rubbing up and down the upper arm, "we've been looking everywhere for her. How fortunate you found her before the wrong sort did."

"How fortunate indeed," it was purest irony that Skyler could talk about the 'wrong sort' when he was just 'wrong' for Lila.

"Well, I should get Lila settled down for the night."

"I'm fine, I can see myself up to my room. Good night & Thank You, Reox," she slipped free of her fiancee's arms, beating a hasty retreat.

"Good night, Lila!"

She turned back to glance at him, her eyes so far away, she almost seemed to be seeing past him, almost as if seeing into the future and realizing that it held no happiness only horrors, she inclined her head wordlessly.

An awkward silence pressed between the two men, Reox having no been certain if they'd been 'in the clear'. Lila had taken a while to recover, even in darkness her face had been flushed, she'd been silent near breathless, and they'd been much too close, the situation was incriminating if Skyler had seen all or a few of those sign, one thing was sure Reox was going to take control of the conversation, he was going to talk first, it might save his ass and his job, "I've been meaning to speak with you."

"Shall we step into my office?"

"No, that, that won't be necessary. Over the last few weeks I've been doing some…thinking and I've decided to ask for a transfer."

"I see, it would be a horrible loss to lose you, you've been invaluable, skilled beyond measure even though your experience in the field is…lacking," it made sense, he was young, he'd only been at this a few years but still was one of the best, "I'll see what can be arranged though," there was a bit too much eagerness to the last words, oh yes he'd definitely seen their exchange and it had not been to his liking.

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><p><strong>Summer - 1951<strong>

**United States East Coast**

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><p>"Please sit down, Reox, I wish to resolve this quickly, I must return soon."<p>

Reox was more than mildly surprised, a mere hour after the wedding he was removed from active duty and instructed to meet in the master office only to be face –to-face with the groom. The wedding had been difficult to sit through but his job had demanded he be present thus he was present whether he wished it or not. Deep down he wondered if it had been a message to him specifically that Lila was Skyler's wife and he was forced to acknowledge it by his mere presence, a presence mandated by the terms of his employment. Gods knew that he'd have preferred severance pay, a pat on the back, and being sent on his way to seeing her married. It was a silent death, a future with Lila was the only one he'd ever seen, it felt like none now existed, not for him.

"I have composed a favorable recommendation and as you requested I've found several possible positions for one of your profession. One of which requires an…understanding before you accept, I'd like to get it out of the way."

"Years ago, my Father invested in a profitable venture, a venture that requires the best and brightest but also sacrifice. Deep under the ocean exists a city – Rapture. Now I have nothing to do with it, only bits and pieces but the truth is I forwarded your service record, my recommendation and you've interested whoever or whatever is in charge down there but the truth is they demand all or nothing, you have to make a choice right here, right now. If you go down there, you cannot come back up, the secrecy of the City and its ideals demands its inhabitants minimize contact with the surface to safeguard its…ideals. If you accept I have instructions for you to follow, instructions to lead you there but if not than you can go anywhere else and pursue your destiny elsewhere," he glanced at Skyler, noting the almost nervous anticipatory way he proffered this 'alternative', he still feared him, he wanted to get rid of Reox, to get him out of the way, to make him disappear.

The only thing was after today he was on board with that – he wanted to disappear, to disappear and forget what was lost to him, "Tell me."

No explanation was given, a sealed envelope was in his hand, "Follow the directions in there, your path should be set though if you do not intend to go it would be in your best interests to burn any traces of THAT letter. Understand?"

"Thank you. I think I shall…," a voice interrupted him.

"Skyler?"

Lila's voice, both of them turned as the door knob turned, her eyes seemed to lock on the two men, "I, I'm sorry, did I, did I interrupt something?"

"Of course not, you are dismissed, Reox."

"Are you leaving already? But the reception has just started surely if he is off duty now he can attend…as a guest, a friend right?"

Skyler mouth looked like he'd swallowed a lemon whole, it was bitter but somehow after years of tailoring himself to look good regardless of what he thought or felt his mouth yielded a smile at his wife. Lila tentatively returned it, there was a nervousness to her as if she could read the lust in his eyes, she might be a virgin but Lila was never an idiot, she probably did see it and it made her apprehensive. She was not in love with him simply living up to expectations, marrying well and settling down, "Of course, would you like to stay Reox."

"I…," before he could say more Lila interjected.

"Wonderful, shall we?"

Her arm laced with her groom's with little hesitation, dragging her 'spouse' back to the party and leaving Reox with little choice but to follow or be left behind. The last thing he wanted to do was stay and celebrate the wedding but the actions of the groom and bride made it clear they were not on the same page. Skyler lusted after her but was not capable of loving her and Lila desired love but knew only the fleeting physical shadow of it existed within her spouse, she'd married into wealth but that wealth would cost her true happiness – one that tragically she would have found with Reox. Already the gears were grinding methodically in his head, there was a way, if she'd abandon her spouse and run away, they could go it together. This place, this Rapture, it was a place of no return. God only knew what the place was like but it wouldn't matter to him as long as they had each other.

_One Last Time, I have to try, she is making a mistake. She does not love that man but she loves me, it is why he fears me, why he wants me away, FAR away._

Although he was 'invited' he was still almost anxious as he stepped over to her, he'd allowed the groom and Father to have their traditional dances, even allowed a few lucky others to twirl her around the dance floor before he chose the moment to approach her. He proffered a hand out to her, one that Lila gave a measured look, glancing once at her husband as if getting his 'approval' or at least 'permission' to proceed. His look was one of disproval but it was not outright nor would he, with his rich boy upbringing, likely make a scene. It was with pleasure that the groom yielded albeit reluctantly allowing him to claim Lila for a dance or two.

"What are you doing?"

Her voice turned frantic as she realized he'd melted them into the shadows, drawing them away from the party, having hidden within the sea of dancing people.

"To show you what you won't hear," he brought his mouth against hers, his lips pressing against hers, his tongue coaxing, teasing her mouth to open. The kiss was altogether forward, almost aggressive. He'd never planned any of it out further, never had planned to take it beyond that point in time until the moment he felt her response, it was so natural even if it was tentative. Once she started touching him it was difficult to pull away let alone think, her innocent virgin touches were like a searing aphrodisiac, goading him to go on, One thing was certain her participation belied her willingness, she wanted it, want him, wanted more.

Even after the wedding today the deduction to act upon his impulses took little to no time to materialize into something more. He felt her fingers slide beneath the lapels of his suit's jacket, her nails scrapping lightly against his shirt as she searched for the fold down the middle where it was buttoned. Her explorations encouraging his own, he gripped her waist and hauled her between himself and a wall, never breaking the pressure of their lips, the dance of their tongues. His hand slid beneath the voluminous skirts of her wedding dress, his palm caressing up the length of her leg, coming to congregate and stroke along her inner thigh. Her legs parted to his questing hand as his fingers bypassed her undergarments, penetrating the silken heat of her feminine core. Instantly her virgin flesh tightened, coiling around that finger as she shivered in his grasp, a breathy moan escaping the taut outline of her lips as he stroked her, her thigh closed around his entire hand as it moved in and out. Moments later her body joined the movements, riding his hand as it mimicked the motions of entering and taking her.

He never went far enough, not to break the impediment of her virginity. It was a gaping reminder that she was a virgin and in front of man and god today that prize of her flesh wasn't rightfully his, wasn't meant to be his. His mouth contracted bitterly around the sudden dryness in his mouth, he wouldn't leave her wanting but he'd just leave it at that, allow her to walk away, it was definitely the saner thing to do. Lila, however, decided she wanted something else, something more. He'd never encountered any tales of virgins being so bold, it was like she wanted this so bad that it didn't make her afraid to explore and ask and demand, unfortunately for every action she did knowing or not it fanned their already passionate affair to new heights, to that point of no return. A climax shuddered through her as her trembling hands found the waistline of his pants, undid them, and freed his raging erection which had been painfully kept in check.

Somewhere along the way he had expected the whole ordeal, their passionate lovemaking to come to an end. Reox had expected Lila to come the realization of what she was doing and to stop him, to stop them both. If she did realize what was happening she never once stopped him. In fact it seemed like she needed this as much as he did, the closeness and contact they'd been denying for months, for years. They always had friendship, love, and companionship but as adults now they had physical lust going for them too. When he looked into her eyes he saw an awareness that made him know she knew that this was a choice, just another one of many, but this was the one that felt right to them both. Nevertheless he had to ask, to make sure that this wasn't a 'heat-of-the-moment' decision that she'd regret for the rest of her life, "Do you want this? With me?"

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><p>His voice almost cracked at the idea of her being able to reject this between them. She placed her palms upon his cheeks and kissed him, nothing passionate just sweet and chaste, "I want this," <em>while I have a chance,<em> "with you," _while I have a choice. _It was a bitter realization that this the first 'selfish' thing she had done, it was also the first thing she'd done that she wanted. Her family had wanted her to have a rich, well-to-do husband, she had that but there was a stark realization that she only had these 'snatches' of time to be happy, to gain a small sliver of happiness before fatalistically living up to the expectations.

She was abandoning a love match for lust at best, her family gaining wealth and prestige "gold-digging" at the expense of her freedom. After this she'd be expected to be a dutiful wife and mother, perfect in all things, a trophy. To be something (not someone) for her husband to wear upon his arms, to be shown and seen but never heard or known. It was a small miracle in itself that she hadn't ran away, gods knew that she had dreaded this wedding ever since it was in the planning, the works. Deep down she knew that she'd never have a chance of getting away, the two families would see to it that she stayed put, and if they had to, to make sure she behaved. At worst if she turned to Reo that would get him in trouble, more than he could handle, it would ruin his chances at a future, she couldn't be that selfish. No, she couldn't run away, not when she was 'in' this 'deep' but she could do this – this intimacy, an affair. Lila knew that she loved him and she wanted him to know that. She wanted him to be her first where he'd never be her 'one and only'. So many times she'd heard other females from upper-class ladies and lower-class whores say the same thing 'you never forget the first' 'make the first one special, make it count' – she intended to. This moment with Reox would become a memory of light for her to keep in the dark day to come, when living through her bleak future.

Without thought she parted her legs, allowing them to straddle him, cradling his waist as his length settled between her legs, she couldn't see anything beneath the skirts of her gown but she felt him pushing in, penetrating her then he stopped, his touch turn soothing and placatory then he came forward in a rush that had her seeing stars, tasting copper, she realized she'd bit her lip and it was the only thing that kept her from crying out when he'd taken her virginity. She hadn't been totally ignorant but she'd forgotten the advice she'd gotten from friends and family that the act hurt a bit, even if you were prepared, often men were so large and she knew she was very small, very tight. Gradually the pain faded to a dull throb that she easily shrugged off, there was a pleasurable thrill to the way he filled her, "I'm alright…"

She was ready to explore past the pain, to get to the pleasure. This time he was able to go deeper, allowed to stroke along the entire length of her passage. Upon the retreats there was a pleasurable friction of growing heat, upon the push inward that feeling of possession, a possession that thrilled her, a possession she wanted. He was a considerate lover, starting out slow but over time it became impossible to feel the pain around their passion. The pace naturally sped up, bringing them to spiral up further towards a climax. The act was both an eternity and a blur, it seemed to take such a long excruciating time to get to that point of blissful release but so swiftly it came upon them, bringing them down and bitterly back to the realization that it was over.

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><p>For a long time silence settled over them, it was uncomfortable to say the least. She was a newlywed adulteress and he was scorned suitor turned lover but both of them knew that kind of arrangement would never work, they would likely never manage to pull off what they had this evening.<p>

"I have something to tell you," he finally, "I've requested a transfer, it has been granted and arranged, it is what we, your husband and I were setting up before your reception," understanding flooded her, awareness coursing through her in an instant, "It doesn't have to end here, I know of a place, a place where he cannot follow you, a place where you can be free, we can be together regardless of what happened today."

"Reo…you don't understand."

"Lila? Please."

"Don't, just don't," she paused, trying to pull out of his arms, feeling her resist and fight him only made him want to hold her all the tighter, the last thing he wanted to do was surrender her. For a few short minutes he had heaven, if he let go he knew it would not fall back into his keeping again, if he let go she'd be beyond his reach.

"You've made a mistake, you know that," he shook her lightly, his hands almost encircling her upper arms like manacles, "yet you do nothing to rectify it."

"I can't rectify it but you're not one to talk, you are so caught up in your dreams, your fantasies that you can't see reality!"

"Funny, this sure as hell doesn't feel like a fantasy."

"Let go," her voice was iron hard as her blue eyes surveyed him, the threat was there, she could ruin his future with a word, scream for help, she was the 'victim' everyone would believe her. Deep down he didn't believe that she'd set him up for rape but right now she was so desperate, so distant, so irrational, he wasn't sure if he knew her at this moment. He retracted his grip with reluctance and her gaze softened; there was love there, a love that was more pain to her than anything else. Her palm reached out to touch him, to lay bare against his cheek, "I love you, Reo but your life, your destiny does not lie with my own. I've chosen my path, you've chosen yours, both lead us in different directions. Its time you realized that - this was a mistake, one that won't be repeated," she swallowed, leaned up upon her tiptoes, and kissed him upon the cheek. The kiss felt like a burn, it was a gesture of friendship that signified the distance she'd now interjected between them. Lila carefully gathered her skirts in her hand looking back once before fleeing, leaving him with the fleeting memory of her in flesh and blood. Possessing Lila had been such a hollow victory; somehow he'd won her heart but lost her nevertheless, won the battle but lost the war…

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><p>Lila never returned to the party, she just couldn't as much for physical reasons as emotional ones. Physically she was disheveled, it was evident she'd been with someone, emotionally she was in pieces, at least her physical appearance matched her emotions. She'd been a fool, oh no, she did not regret the brief and torrid affair they had if it could be called that, even on her wedding day she almost proudly wore the title of adulteress though only she knew of her infidelity, there had been no witnesses. Her foolishness had been in believing that she'd scorn her true love and that he'd be able to stay, to be her friend, to help her weather the disaster of her married life when he could not remotely be part of it, part of her life. How could see have thought he'd would have been able to stay seeing her married to another man.<p>

To make it worst the disagreement they had before she left only made her feel all the more wretched. She HAD to silence him before she fancied doing exactly what he offered, it seemed quite impossible for there really to be a place beyond the reach of others, but every part of her had wanted to believe him and that is why she had to stop him, before they did something they'd regret. She'd regret this entire day but no part of her could regret her time with Reo, no matter how much she claimed it was stupid or foolhardy, her heart would not allow it.

The latch of a door handle turned behind her, she put down her brush. She'd long since cleaned herself up of sweat, blood, and seed then dressed herself in a nightgown. Some parts of the love-making she'd had remained such an the dulled pain between her legs but none were visible. Truth be told though no one had needed to see the affair to know it happened, she'd disappeared off the dance floor with a man who'd been her 'love' it didn't take too much brains to piece together their absences with her absence from the reception. No confirmation was needed but she knew she had to steel herself because her 'husband' knew what she'd done this night and she had no clue how he'd react. She didn't dare offer him a smile nor did he give her one, his face was unreadable as he stepped into the room, his eyes taking in the sight of her ready and resolute. It was as if that 'spirit' and the defiance it exhibited, displeased him. She'd disgraced him publicly this night, he wasn't likely to forget it nor was he likely going to let her. Her spouse crossed the room in a few solid strides, backhanding her so hard she fell to the floor, on the way down her head hit the bathtub nearly knocking her into unconsciousness, her vision scrambled as she tried to recover her bearings. Rough hands pulled her up, hauling her against wall, "Come, Wife, if you can whore for him you can do it for me."

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><p><strong>AN: I am just looking for some HONEST opinions, that means I want reviews, nothing too detailed or extravagant. I just want to hear whether you like it or not, what you like or don't like, and whether you'd be interested in reading more or not. Right now it might be too early to tell if you'll like a story from the first chapter but sometimes it is the first chapters that make the story. I am going to warn you this RATED M and it is because of this chapter, it has some semi-explicit content/coarse language towards the end. To my knowledge, the rest of the fic, not so much. This chapter was the one in which the 'love child' was conceived, on the other chapters I will likely censor anything too mature.**


	2. The Regret

**Lila Ashrend – Our Daughter**

From the depths of my despair a triumph has been delivered to me – I am pregnant, with child, a gift given to me by no other than Reo. Neither of us likely imagined that this could or would be a result of our isolated one-night love affair but you know what they say once is all it takes. You might ask HOW I know it is Reo's? I know because my spouse is incontinent, inept, incapable of fathering child but he'll do anything to see that doesn't go public or come out into the open. He's so desperate to keep this secret, desperate enough he'd even claim a child not his own. She is blessing, there is no doubt of that, all I have left of Reo after my foolishness of letting him go…

**Lila Ashrend – Lily**

I have decided to name her Lily, it is what Reo has always wanted to name his firstborn daughter. Even now the childhood memories we share are fresh in my mind and a source of great comfort. All those years ago, he was such a good sport, even though it gave the other children reason to give him grief he never refused me, never refused to play house or hide-and-go-seek. Naturally he was the husband and Daddy, I was the wife and Mother, and my dolls our children. Now in reflection I wish those play dates had become a reality but for all the things I have done wrong, finally I can do something right. If Reo wants a daughter named Lily than he shall have her…

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><p><strong>Rapture<br>**

**Beneath the Atlantic Ocean**

* * *

><p>Five Years, thousands of miles away across and below sea and somehow he still managed to regret over all that time and distance. Ever since parting with the surface and Lila he had been functioning, admirably and efficiently actually but still his social life stagnated, his social life could be explained as 'dry' at best. Rapture had been the perfect place to go, to forget or forget as much as it was possible to. Although Andrew Ryan had closed down the city many years previous, he'd been welcomed with open arms. Rapture wasn't the kind of city were he'd fit in with the scientists, artists, or techies but he'd quickly found out how high a demand his abilities were. In Rapture being able to shove your weight around meant a great deal. It wasn't any real surprise to find out that Ryan had summoned the best security force for himself and his interests, his pool ran pretty damn deep, he had almost every kind of soldier imaginable – enforcers, terrorist, gangsters, ex-military, bodyguard, special ops. He was only one damn piece of the large puzzle that was Ryan's 'hold' on Rapture. As the years had gone on he was sure that their efforts were the only thing that was keeping Rapture together but of late he'd begun to doubt even that, wondering if their efforts was what was damning it More often than not it felt like their efforts to defend the city was dooming it.<p>

Anymore he ran a sixteen hour shifts broken by four to five hours of unsettled sleep then back in for eight or twelve hours and shutting down for a day or so. There is no way he'd be able to manage a social life, which was a little something to be thankful for. The only 'companionship' he had was his off and on mistress Maevja, more often called 'Maeve', who clearly thought him overworked and overdoing it. Maybe he was but it was a relief that it gave him excuse to avoid her sometimes, sometimes he was sure she was 'stepping over the line' wanting a lot more than he wanted or paid her for. One thing was certain in his mind she wasn't his wife and wasn't likely to be any time soon. Marriage was the last thing on his mind and for more than once he considered he very well might die a bachelor with no issue. Grim but for Ryan it had been one more plus to an already impeccable resume, no wife or children meant no dependents therefore he wouldn't 'go soft' and sympathize with others who did. It didn't mean he was unjust or mean simply that he'd not be susceptible to emotional bias. To a degree even children seemed like 'parasites' to Ryan, that was a view he didn't agree on so much though he saw the purpose of a objective or neutral task force in enforcing the laws.

The trouble was a lot of people didn't live by the law; some hadn't for a long, long time. Even he joined their number albeit discreetly, the last thing he could be considered is being a fool, even the idiots of Rapture, the spliced morons saw things weren't go 'so well' but he'd been leery of Rapture from the beginning, the society had been building up and rolling along several years before he'd been brought down here but Ryan had brought him down for a reason and in his line of work the 'reason' you called in muscle was to deal with problems. Topside guarding a few rich pricks was nothing to prepare him for Rapture, nothing topside could have because Rapture was made to be different than the surface, compared to the law and order rising from the ashes of the two World Wars Rapture could be considered to be its own state of anarchy, at first it was faint but it was there. That is why he had a back up plan, always have to have one of those even if it is a vague undefined outline, you had to have a goal in mind. As soon as he'd gotten settled in Rapture he'd looked for the smuggling rings, he knew they existed because he was instructed to ferret them out and hunt them down. Instead he found them and cut them a deal, he'd pay for their services and assure their survival as much as he was able to but he wanted them to make surface runs, to check up on his apartments, keep his affairs in order so he'd have a place to escape to if Rapture went really, really bad. At first it had been tempting to bring down mementos of his time on the surface and time with Lila but then he'd remembered he left them there to leave even her memory behind. He did however have them bring down his mail and messages, so he could manage to keep his life on the surface running smoothly even if he wasn't there.

Today was another such day, a rendezvous with Fontaine's smugglers for this six month's worth of mail and the cassettes from his 'message machine'. Typically they'd use to make runs on a monthly basis but with the effort being put into hunting them down the smugglers had still 'played ball' but downscaled the operations to avoid generating too much attention. At a result personal raids got shelved for months at a time, he could pay well but not as well as an entire host of individuals thus Fontaine's smuggling priorities went to the things that could make him the most money. The inconvenience had been annoying but bearable, most of the time the mail went into the trash and the voice messages were trivial in nature – business and telemarketing. He'd never had friends on the surface so he never got calls from friends left behind but still he paid for the privilege of being able to hear the phone calls, to have contact with anything besides Rapture.

He'd dealt directly with Fontaine once, to set up the terms of his 'contract' and cover payment arrangements but other than that he met with a proxy, one of his unfortunate underlings who did the dirty work. He paid with hard cash but cash didn't exchange hands until they delivered. They met in a low profile joint, the smugglers didn't like doing business out in the open but he refused to do business right on their premises, to err on the side of caution with those types. To satisfy both sides the smugglers had to meet in public but he had to assure that the rendezvous location changed between each transaction so that no trail or tail could be put following him. This time it was a low-key Fishbowl Diner in the Pauper's Drop that was packed with traffic of those coming off from the night's graveyard shift, just like him though notably they appeared a lot more tired. He'd barely sat down and ordered his first drink, a soda, when his proxy came in, ordered something hard at the bar. He drank the shot straight up bottoms down before shuffling over to Reox throwing a thick wad of envelopes on the table as he took a seat, "Come on, let's get this over with, we both know that neither of us wants to be here longer than we have to."

Wasn't THAT true so he didn't complain, he placed his bills on the table slow enough to allow the guy to count and make sure he wasn't being cheated. They never were, Reox upheld his bargains but frankly he couldn't blame them, if their situations were reversed he'd not trust someone to blindly adhere to the terms of a business contract without robbing him blind, shorting him, or both, "You got the safe lockbox?"

For Reox it was imperative and there was no way that he'd, even drunk, allow the proxy to run off with the bills LITERALLY in hand. The system was simple Fontaine owned the heavy-duty boxes and each box had two keys; Fontaine had the master key and the client, whoever they may be, had the replica. The box was opened at the time of the exchange, the money was locked in, and considering that it was made of industrial strength materials and hack-proof the box didn't open until it got back to Fontaine.

The man who had been glancing at the money with singular attention looked back at him, his expression almost seeming dour that Reox had remembered that. The heavy duty lock boxes held the money garnered from personal transaction to make sure it went directly from the client's hands to Fontaine's without giving a chance for the proxy to take their own 'cut' of it, "Of course, I'll handle it!"

Reox smiled at that, clearly the guy thought Reox would try to filch some of the cash back while he put it into the box , "Of course," the guy sullenly slammed the box on the table taking a drink of Reox's lukewarm soda while he unlocked the box, the guy promptly scooped up the bills and put them in the box, Reox made sure to pay particular attention to make sure the proxy's hand didn't linger on the bills too long, it didn't take much to pickpocket especially not for these underworld types, stealing was more second nature than anything. The box was then it was promptly locked, the proxy rose and gave him a customary 'pleasure doin' business with ye' without much conviction or sincerity and walked off. Reox placed a few bills on the table, leaving what was left of his lukewarm cola abandoned. He was ready to take a shower and lay down.

He went right home, locking the door securely behind him then throwing down his keys while starting up the water. While waiting for it to warm up a bit since it was ice cold he used his knife to open up the envelope, spilling it of its contents, a few cassettes thankfully not damaged for the flimsy, lack-luster packaging. He popped one in and cranked the volume up enough so he could hear it over the running water as he clambered into the shower. It was as he was pulling out, toweling his hair dry that he heard the first, last, and only part of the surface he missed, suddenly the endless tirade of messages became that much more interesting. He gave no thought for what would have drove Lila to contact him, from the first syllable of her voice he knew it was her and he listened intently, not allowing his shock to ruin the pleasant surprise of even this remote, one-sided contact.

A weary sigh stretched over the start of the message, a sigh that made the owner seem much too old, too aged, too exhausted, in that sigh she communicated a deep abiding unhappiness, "Hey, it-it's me, Lila, again…You, you haven't contacted me yet…I guess I can't blame you after everything," the audible sound as she was swallowing back tears, "I wish I had been smarter at every turn. Now at the end," Reox instantly wondered what she meant by THAT but kept his attention on the message's content, "I am left with all sorts of regrets and much to 'right'. I have no right to ask a favor of you but you have every right to know exactly what I am going to tell you. I have a child, a daughter, prettiest girl you've ever seen. My husband died a few years back, his death left me with nothing to lack for financially, for me OR her. Truth is I never denied her a Father but I denied you. It isn't from lack of trying, for several years I rationalized that I gave her the best provider I could for her future. The more I looked at the glittering realm I entered the more I realized I didn't want that for OUR daughter. I don't have much time left, I'm dying, I got leukemia and judging from the fact you won't answer me, you don't want anything to do with me. Frankly I don't blame you for that but I am looking for you now so that Lily can see her REAL Daddy."

The next message droned on as he collapsed back against wall, it felt the breath had been knocked out of him and regardless of how hard he tried to force his lungs to breath in and out, in and out but he just couldn't.

_A child? _

They'd conceived a child, on her wedding night to another man she conceived a love child with her one-time lover.

_Oh hell…_

His body felt wired, energetic, and he knew what it was – purpose, after so long of having nothing he now had a little girl. That was not the only thing he felt, he felt regret and grief anew, Lila was dying. His mind instantly denied it but he knew she'd not offer any lies or excuses to entice him into talking to her, there was desperation in that message, the desperation of a dying woman and she thought he wanted nothing to do with her, that he was avoiding her. He had done just that, avoided her but he'd still never hated her, he still loved her and the thought of losing Lila, of her dying was almost as painful as learning this late in life that he'd fathered a child.

The bastard Lila married was dead, that is what she said and he was inclined to believe her and Lila was dying, what on earth would happen to the daughter, his daughter? No, what would happen to THEIR daughter? It was clear that she'd been trying to contact him for a while, Reox instantly thought back to the previous raid knowing that he'd paid for the privilege of having mail and messages obtained but also knowing he'd not listened to them. For the past year and a half he'd paid for 'News' from the surface and he'd shelved it, never opened up the letters or listened to the messages until now and he'd almost missed out for that foolishness, for that apathy. Fueled by purpose he sat up, deciding the dig through the most recent mail and work his way backwards. An hour into his grim work he found a large white envelope with a professional looking seal, it was addressed to him from Watson & Wilkes, with that kind of name he knew it was undoubtedly a legal firm, likely a very rich legal firm. He unceremoniously ripped the envelope open, only taking a moment to see its 'post date' was one month previous from today's date.

_Dear Mr. _

_It is my regrets to inform you that Mrs. Lila Haynes Ashrend passed away as of the early January 1958. You have our deepest condolences in your grief, it is always difficult to lose one's loved ones. Nevertheless we still have business to attend to, we have yet to settle the subject of Mrs. Ashrend's estate. You were stipulated in her last will and testament to be a beneficiary of will as well as designated to be the legal guardian for her sole issue – Ms. Lily Ashrend. _

_Attempts to inform you of this has been met with difficulty, we have attempted to plan a meeting time to your convenience by telephone, you currently have no line nor number thus we have also made physical attempts to plan a private meeting in person at your place of residence or in the office. We are willing to accommodate you. _

_Please send us word once you receive this missive that we may 'arrange' a private appointment to execute the estate. Failure to do so in a timely or efficient manner may result in your exemption from the Will. _

_Sincerely, _

_R. Watson & T. Wilkes_

Ice cold realization settled itself in his nerves and gut, what time frame was considered 'timely' he didn't give a damn about the stipulations of the estate but he wanted his little girl, he not be left out of her life and if no guardian rose to claim her what would happen. One thing was DAMN certain he needed a surface run and he needed it NOW. No time to idle or waste, if he did he'd lose out on something big, something that would feel like losing Lila all over again. What kind of loser did he have to be to lose BOTH ladies in his life, mother and daughter, Lila AND Lily? God, he should have never burnt his bridges to such a degree, now there was NO way to get to the surface and that is what he needed.

"We'll accommodate you…," he muttered to himself as he paced, finally he gave into his urge and took a shot of vodka, it only made the urge to spring into action intensify. The damn question was if they'd come to the bottom of the ocean to 'do their business' with him accompanied by a questionable escort and the real possibility of death if discovered. Regardless he had to try and if that failed well then he'd really see about slipping out, bailing from Rapture - risks and consequences be damned.

Rejuvenated by this purpose and these 'fears' he donned his clothes and full gear in less than three minutes then headed for the Atlantic Express, traversing the high pressure railway from place to place until he got to Neptune's Bounty would be a pain in the ass, it would take him time to get around Rapture because he DIDN'T live in the lower class parts of town, this midnight jaunt would likely cost him whatever sleep he'd hoped to catch up on so he was going to make damn sure the night went his way. Having no physical energy left he was only propelled forward by force of will but he had a hell of a motivational drive now. He managed to get snatches of sleep, mere naps in the underwater railways and bathyspheres but never falling into a fast enough sleep that he missed getting off at his stops.

On the way there he'd been thinking on how he and his life would have to 'change'. By no means was he a 'family' man but he intended to be the Father that Lila had made him in bringing Lily into this world. There was also the fact of how he lived; with no one living with him and Maeve merely 'dropping by' from time to time he'd never given too much care into how his place looked. Now it was going to matter, he had to make it clean, sanitary, and safe. Not that it wasn't safe but clean and sanitary not so much, it was a damn bachelor pad and it reflected his loner ways. He'd have to request a few vacation days off to clear out the apartment and scrub it down. God knew he had the time; he never requested time off and was never sick, so he had plenty of vacation days and sick leave to burn. Thank god he lived in a decent part of town or he'd have to consider moving altogether. He would not see his kid raised in Pauper's Drop, Neptune's Bounty, or any other area that was part of Skum Row – all the interconnected lower class areas. He wasn't wealthy but he could afford the extra expenditure of security.

It was not the first time he thought bad thoughts with the good though, he was eager as hell but the kid might not be especially considering she'd likely been raised in a lap of luxury. Even the upper class of Rapture wasn't like what she was used to on the surface, how was he able to compete with that? He wouldn't, he could only give her his best, love her as best as she deserved and give her as much as he could, financially speaking. His thoughts turned back to a room in his apartment. There was a spare bedroom that was, of course, much smaller than the master bedroom where he slept. For a long time it had been used for storage, he could clean it out and give her that though it was notably…bare. Maybe he could fix that when he smiled to himself, no doubt she'd have fun decorating and designing her room. Maybe it was a project they could do together for fun and bonding.

Greatly reassured by that he finally stepped off the train and directly onto a pier, as if the sight of the well-worn wood wasn't enough to advertise where he was the stench definitely would – the stench of the sea and death. No matter where you were in Neptune's Bounty it smelled like a fish had been gutted and left out to die which wasn't likely far from the truth. Fontaine Fisheries were the primary source of 'food', income, and employment down here but frankly the smuggling operations were more important to him. Who cares if a spine was left in a 'boneless' fish shipment bound for the Adonis Luxury Resort but if his surface runs were jeopardized heads would fly. Everyone knew that smugglers were hiding out of Neptune's Bounty but no one came to the direct conclusion that those cutting the guts out of fish were the smugglers gutting Ryan's underwater economy with their activities. If he'd have been good he'd have sold things out to Ryan a long time ago but then he'd also have NEVER found out about Lily and would have no way of getting her to and from the surface. For once it felt good to make a decision he wasn't made to regret.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Reox smiled at that, at the familiar voice of his downtrodden proxy who looked none too happy to see him here, it looked like he'd been roused straight out of bed to intercept him, he probably had.

"You know we aren't supposed to bring business home, draws attention and the like."

"Ah but then you'd miss out, miss out on a very important…contract."

"What kind of contract?" His proxy licked his lips nervously but there was a bit of eagerness to it, if there was a lucrative contract to be had then theoretically there was a good cut for the proxy. Typical, no smuggler could resist the lure of money especially the kind Reox dealt with - cold hard cash.

"Ah, ah, ah, I need commitment first."

No promise of money was enough for his proxy to turn stupid and promise Fontaine's resources in something with no contract laid out for consideration, "You know the rules, we can't and I won't!"

"Got a secure locale?"

"Nothing you are going to like, means stepping into the spider's web so to speak," wasn't THAT the truth and his proxy was right, he didn't like it but there was a lot he'd do for his little girl.

"I don't care, take me somewhere secure so we can hammer this out."

"If I led you directly to our hideout, client or not, they'd still gut me and decorate Fontaine's office with my entrails. Fisheries are the best you'll get."

"That works for me," anything worked for him, he wasn't exactly drowning in alternatives. Frankly he wasn't all that 'disappointed'. Even going to the fisheries made him wish he was packing more heat. Not that he'd be allowed to carry it, he was sure he might be 'patted down' especially if he had to meet with Fontaine face-to-face. God he hoped it didn't come to that though it probably would.

The proxy led him there and into a bare room, instantly he opened up a pack of smokes and lit one up, "Want one?"

His courtesy threw Reox off guard, normally when he was stressed he was always up for a good smoke but frankly he wanted to get this shit done, taken care of, so he declined, "No thanks," no need to add he had no clue where the guy's stock came from. The guy opened his pack, lit one up, took a nice long drag and then finally talked, "Okay, what you want now? Normally you don't ask for shipments more than once a month and you've worked on our time tables."

"I need a run done now."

"That is not possible," the proxy's tone was flat, final, matter-of-fact, too bad Reox didn't have it in his mind to listen.

"You better reverse that answer else we are going to have problems, this CAN'T wait, that is the reason I am stalking you to your doorstep at this ungodly hour of night. You don't want me knocking down Fontaine's office door now do you?"

The proxy again got nervous and predictably fell in line, "What do you want done?"

"I'm a lucky man, a Father, I have a daughter orphaned topside. I want you to bring her down."

"You are crazy, you want us to bring down a fleshie!"

Fleshie – slang for human and also the ULTIMATE taboo. In Rapture there was one absolute law – nothing that could expose Rapture to parasites was allowed. It meant that contact with the surface was zilch. Rapture was cut off, meant to be autonomous except it would have been if not for Fontaine's smuggling which mean that he was Reox's only chance but Reox's contract was a HUGE liability, if this contract went afoul then it could jeopardize all smuggling operations, topple Fontaine's illegal economy. Humans from the surface were an unpredictable risk factor, one that the smugglers couldn't control very well, "How fucking old?"

"Five."

"No fucking way! Keep track of a five year old worse if she runs off and gets us all an early morning appointment with the hangman's noose. No damn way in hell I'm taking this to Fontaine."

In that moment he appreciated the fact his proxy was a goddamn idiot, he'd NOT removed what he was packin' but that said he was also stupid to tell Reox an outright no. It was something he learned too late, Reox drew his pistol from a holster on his belt and brought it to rest beneath the proxy's jaw, making sure it was pressing against his jawline hard enough to bruise. The guy knew the dangers of its placement. Reox could shoot him, he'd not need to aim. The gun would go off and the bullet would be self-guided going directly upward into his brain.

"You really think Fontaine will let you get away with this?"

"I don't think Fontaine will give a fuck what the hell I'd do to you so you'd best play nice and listen up because I have you by the fucking balls. We're going to go to his office and outline this contract or I'll bring Ryan down on all your heads."

"That won't be necessary, what the hell is going on here?"

Thankfully Reox had been smart enough from the get-go to put a solid wall at his back but it was a bad thing he'd been so 'stirred up' that he missed the fact Fontaine had crashed their argument without him being any the wiser, "A disagreement. I was negotiating a contract and he tells me it can't be done."

"Anything can be done for the proper motivation," that was his smooth way of saying _for a price. _Fortunately Reox was willing and able to pay up a fortune.

A typical run, just for his mail and messages cost $150 per run, it was expensive but considering what he was paid the loss of income was nothing. He had to offer enough to entice Fontaine and keep him strung up until he delivered. By now he was craving a smoke but he didn't want to do it in front of Fontaine, last thing he needed was for him to figure out that the bastard made him nervous, "I have a daughter, her mother is dead and she's an orphan, I'm all she's got, I need an escort and transport for the kid and the lawyer. I'm willing to pay more than double the usual amount, $400 upfront if you agree to take the contract," and now to ensure Fontaine wouldn't drop it he'd offer more, "I'll pay $600 more once the contract is completed. The entire contract will be valued at $1000. Satisfied?"

"More than, we'll get it done, I am guessing since you are so stirred up that you have a few stipulations."

"The contract's got a time limit, I'm paying well because I can't wait, I need you guys to set out right away. Tonight if you can, tomorrow if you can't."

"Tomorrow but you've got a commitment, we'll prepare tonight, get going tomorrow," of course, after all no damn way Fontaine would turn down that kind of profit, risks be damned.


	3. Lost & Found

For weeks it seemed like his life was in a stasis, frozen in a standstill while waiting for news from Fontaine's smugglers. There was so many ways things could go wrong and yet all the while he wanted to believe that things could go off right, without a hitch. If Fontaine was anything it was efficient and he didn't allow screw-ups to join his smuggling operations otherwise the whole thing would have fallen apart ages ago from stupid foul-ups. To keep himself from thinking about the worst case scenarios he kept himself busy, as usual, but the way he kept busy changed a great deal.

Changes seem to happen overnight for all the notice he took of them. The apartment was cleaned and stayed that way, he took care to see he ate and slept right even turning down doubles shifts here and there. It raised a few eyebrows but no questions were asked. Many of them probably assumed he was readying himself to settle down and in that aim, trying to work himself out of his bachelor lifestyle. They were right but wrong as well, he was settling down for a lady alright but not for marriage, he was settling down for his daughter.

It was a relief when his proxy sent him a message, the run had been done and it was a success. The lawyer, with proper correspondence from Reox by way of a letter, had agreed to travel to the bottom of the ocean in secret to conduct the matter of Lily's guardianship. The relief was monumental, he had not been too late for Lily, not the way he had been for Lila. There was still the matter of making sure that Lily reached him and with the current state of security in Rapture everyone was on high guard.

The first thing Reox had made sure was that he was 'on duty' for the night of Lily's arrival. He didn't want some other schmuck to be on the clock only to catch them all. If he was on duty in Neptune and the Drop then that would mean they wouldn't have to be worrying about dodging someone else's security detail. Not to mention being 'on duty' would give him a nice excuse for why he was 'in the area' – it got fishy as hell when someone went so far out of bounds when he had no reason to be there. That said Reox didn't live near Neptune and in Ryan's mind the only business Reox would have in Neptune would be Ryan's business. Thus he made sure he was doing just that to remain above suspicion.

Reox was well through his first shift and halfway into his second shift when his proxy finally hit him up while he was eating a well-done cheeseburger that tasted like rough rawhide. The fare was bull and it tasted like carpet in his mouth, settled like lead in his stomach but feeding his face was something to do to pass off the time. The proxy melted in easily, taking a seat at his table like they were 'old friends' considering how often they met they could've claimed that except Reox wasn't sure he could say either of them LIKED seeing each other, "Well?"

"It's coming in at 11, you'll be there."

"Of course I will," he would be but he wanted to wince that was cutting his business awfully close with the time he needed to take drafting a security report. Maybe he'd get Lily, go home, then write one out, submit it the next day.

"So, uh, when you going to pay up?"

"Not now," he gave the proxy the look that said 'back off', "You know the terms, I pay when you deliver not a minute before which certainly means I'm not going to give you the $600 hours in advance. Tell your Boss I have the money but he sure as hell BETTER have my daughter, safe and sound."

"Calm down, she will be. I guess we'll see you later then," he got up and skulked out the same way he'd come in.

Reox glanced down at his half eaten burger, finishing it only for the sake of finishing it, then got back up and back to work. The sooner he got back to it the sooner time would pass so he could get to the 'main event' of his day.

* * *

><p>Lily had been terrified from the beginning, the men sent up to 'fetch' her as they called it were dirty, unkempt, and smelled really bad like they hadn't bathed in months but they were the ones sent down by her real Father, her 'Daddy'. Mother had always been adamant that she knew the truth about her birth, a truth that the two of them kept in secret. Her other parent, mommy's husband, was her Father but her REAL one was the one always known as 'Daddy'. Truthfully though once she saw the escort she wasn't sure what to think, was her Daddy like this? She tried to imagine the picture of a face kind of like hers on one of these men and couldn't manage it. She couldn't see her Daddy as filthy and unkempt but she just couldn't imagine her Mother falling in love with what images did come to mind.<p>

She didn't trust them long before the several weeks of traveling they did with them. Thankfully Mr. Watson was with her, she barely knew him either but he was older, well kempt, and she was just a bit familiar with him. The way he dressed and smelled reminded Lily a lot about how she been raised so she felt more secure around him than anyone else. He also had a lot of misgivings about who the guys were and if they were really the ones sent. Unfortunately, they were identified as such by way of a letter from her Daddy that they carried on their person. Mr. Watson used a looking glass to 'confirm' the writing wasn't a forgery then purchased fare for their passage.

During the journey the guy's stole A LOT. They stole from the food Mr. Watson had bought for them, stole her candy snacks that she'd carefully saved up over the last few months, and finally to seal the deal they took the only thing she carried of any monetary value - her music box! The one that Mommy had given her, she fell asleep using it every night. She knew it was them but they denied the claim and then Mr. Watson told her she was not being a very nice girl flinging false accusations at these nice men who are trying to help her. As far as she was concerned THEY were a pain in the neck and she was glad for any chance to be rid of them.

A chance that luckily came that day, they reached a port on Greenland, got off the ship, and headed for the shore where she saw the strangest boat she'd ever seen – they called it a submersible or submarine and they expected it to go…underwater. She'd never heard of such a thing but apparently Mr. Watson had because he agreed to get on. That left her little choice, she couldn't very well back track on her own, she'd have no clue where to go! She got on.

* * *

><p>In the end Reox turned his report in early promising to turn in an attached addendum if anything 'significant' happened in the last two hours. Something significant was going to happen but NOTHING that Reox wanted to be any of Ryan's business. Only problem was that was when everything went to hell, when Reox got there he saw several of them just inside the Fisheries nervously fidgeting, taking nice long drags as if they were trying to calm down from an all-time anxiety high. The sight of him didn't improve matters; many of the men avoided him looking anywhere but in his general direction. Unluckily for them he was not so easily ignored, "What happened?"<p>

Apparently the lesson from a month previous still had not sunk in for his proxy. He took his spent blunt out of his mouth, dropped it on the ground, and tamped it out, "She's gone, ran off to hell knows where."

"And the lawyer?"

"The legal spook ran after her…"

"So you kick back and smoke?"

"NOT OUR PROBLEM. You just paid us to bring her down, you didn't pay for us to deliver her. Find her yourself," he could've sworn the smuggler said 'ass' but he had to move on before he brutalized the guy into a pile of guts and fresh meat. Truth was he didn't have time to waste on the proxy, as stupid and retarded as he was, he had a little girl lose in Rapture and she was more important. On the surface if she got lost she'd no doubt she'd be told to find the police and say she was lost. Only problem with that theory was that down here in Rapture her presence was 'illegal' in itself. If she went to the authorities…good god she could get them all in trouble. She'd hang the whole smuggling operation and her Daddy with it but worst of all what would happen to her. Reox didn't fancy to see Ryan trying his methods with parasites on his own little girl.

Then there was the question of who he should try to run after first – the idiot lawyer or his daughter. Parental bias and personal interest won out, the lawyer was on his own in Rapture until he found Lily. Only problem was he was one man and the both of them running free around Rapture was a liability that could be traced back to him.

He wasn't sure were to start but he figured he needed to at least cover his bases starting with the 'point of entry' which meant scouring down the Fisheries.

* * *

><p>She had to get out of here; she was going to go home, her REAL home. For a long time she'd traveled to come to her Father but when she got there she just had a feeling, more instinct than anything else, that this place was dark, dank, and cold. Inwardly she felt like she, Lily, did not belong here and that if her Daddy REALLY wanted her he could come to her. Deep down she should have given the slip long ago but she'd never had the nerve to not until now - except NOW she was LOST. The men had led her through dark cavernous passages that kind of were like caves, that had been when she decided to slip free and run away when they couldn't see her very well, couldn't keep track of her.<p>

It had worked, she gotten away without any of them knowing only somehow she'd gotten mixed up, turned around, now she was in a cold frosty place. She whimpered, using her tiny hands to rub up and down her arms, only the soft patter of her shoes against stone and ice was any evidence to her passage, evidence that faded to nothing once she stopped moving. A door rattled open at her approach and she yet hoped that if she went the right way she'd get back on track, traverse the caves, and somehow figure out how to use the submarine on her own. She kind of watched what they did and remembered sort of. The route she followed of course resulted in the failure of yet another dead end.

Suddenly she looked around her, eyes coming to focus on her surroundings, firmly clamping onto what she was seeing - a fish was strung up by its tail, the stomach gutted partially, the hole was open enough to reveal its guts. She hastily backed up trying to keep from screaming when she ran into something else. She jerked, turning to see another fish, its dead gaze seeming to look directly at her. That was too much, to see it death-filled gaze upon her – she screamed. Hastily she sidestepped it, turning to leave only to collide with something else, something very hard. There was a clattering crash as things fell down, a particularly hard something hit her on her head, at the base of her skull sending pain sharply through a haze of blurred colors as the sounds of shattering glass exploded around her.

* * *

><p>Relief spread through Reox as he heard a scream, normally it would be a sign of alarm but in this case it sounded like it belonged to someone young, a little girl. Reox doubted that any of the smuggler's brought their daughters to work which meant that if one was down here it was likely his own though he not believe it until he saw her with his own eyes. The testament of his impeccable physique, physical conditioning, and balance was the only reason he was able to cross the ice without falling on his rear while running across its surface in combat grade boots. The scream had long subsided but there was a steady rhythm of quiet crying as he approached a cooler to the back. It opened and his heart twisted at the sight he beheld.<p>

It was Lily, there was no doubt of that, she looked TOO MUCH like Lila to deny her. The part that was heart-wrenching was the fact she was clearly terrified and all alone. No, she was not alone because she had him now. From the beginning he imagined their meeting would be awkward, that his paternal instinct might be slow to come forward or lacking but his fears had been groundless, his instincts were there and they surfaced naturally of their own accord. All this time they'd been there just waiting for the proper time, for the right little girl.

"Shhhhhh," his boots crackled over the glass, crunching it beneath his heels. He half expected her to jerk away from him as his arms closed in around her but she continued to cry, her hands folded over the base of her skull. To add insult to the injury of her terror she seemed to be nursing a bump on the head. It broke his heart to see her reduced to this but he was elated when her face turned to rest against his shoulder, muffling her crying as she nuzzled against it for the comfort of his sheer presence. Truth be told he had so imagined this 'first meeting' going differently but he'd not change a thing about it, it felt good and right having his little girl right here within the safe, loving enclosure of his arms.


	4. Lily

**A/N: This chapter is VERY short but VERY sweet and to the point! Enjoy!**

Once the tears had subsided he could finally see evidence of himself within Lily, it lay written clearly within her eyes. Her hair was the radiant color of burnished sunlight, seemingly captured from above and brought down from the heavens to Rapture. Her eyes were a starling shade of dark emerald that stood out in stark contrast with her sun-kissed features. Right now she was nothing short of beautiful to him, when she grew up she'd be gorgeous just like Lila.

No wonder Lila had sounded so hurt or kept Lily so close, to see the eyes of her lover, of him looking back at her in a child of their 'shared' image. Lily wasn't only a manifestation of their love she was a proclamation of it, for the entire world to see if any of the world had known of him. More than once he wondered how Lily had been treated when she was a living reminder to Skyler Ashrend of his lovely wife's infidelities. As much as he disliked the idea of her being raised by another man, he hoped she'd been treated well, loved as she deserved to be. God knew he hadn't been there for her.

It was as much his fault as it was Lila's, Lila had kept the child and raised her, she'd attempted to tell Reox all along but he'd been beyond her reach and the fault was entirely his own. He'd been the one to run away from Lila and in doing so he turned his back on Lily, he'd ran from her knowing full well his seed could have taken root within Lila that one time they been together but he'd had not believed it could happen, not believed that anything could happen to him that would make living on the surface worth it. He'd been wrong and he paid for it, he'd missed out on five years of Lily's life, such a small time frame to some but those few years were of great importance to him.

When he no longer heard her crying and felt her trembling recede he reluctantly and carefully released her from the embrace that had comforted her to at least this state of 'calm'. He stayed kneeling, perched upon his knees to stay at eye level with her. She settled down taking a good look at him, then down to her feet, then back to him, and finally she rummaged in the pocket of her dress and pulled out a picture holding it up against him, he suddenly realized, for comparison!

"You are my Daddy," her voice was calm but there was emotional currents simmering beneath it – the calm before an emotional storm? He felt pride that she said it more as statement rather than question but still she asked for confirmation, for acknowledgement, "aren't you?"

"Yes."

"Why did you bring me down here?"

"I had to, if I could have come to you I would have but it just was not possible. Once I found out about you nothing would keep me from you. I'm all that's left to you and you are all that is left for me. I know it seems like I've abandoned you and your Mother in going away for such a long time but I brought you down here hoping to make amends, hoping to be a part of your life in a way that I could never be part of your Mother's. You don't like it down here, it's new and scary isn't it?"

She looked ashamed for not having given it a chance but she nodded.

"That's understandable, it was hard for me to get used to it down here but I can't leave and I would really like it if you would stay with me and let me be with you. Can you do that for me, just for a little bit, Lily? It was never my intention to leave you as I did so from this moment on I'd like to be part of your life if you'll let me."

There was a sheer feeling of loneliness in her eyes, a loneliness he'd always felt. She cautiously picked her steps across the ice, hands outstretching to cradle his cheeks. The touch was loving and warm but a bit hurtful deep down, like everything about her it was like Lila. Then she pulled him gently into a hug, a hug every bit as warm as her touch, "Okay, Daddy."

The agreement, along with the conviction and sincerity in her voice, made his heart soar in a way that it had not done so in years.


	5. The Music Box

Steadily he took one step at a time, carefully shouldering the little bundle of 'little girl' in his arms. The weight was unfamiliar but he didn't struggle under it. There was a profound relief that he had found her before someone else did but there was still the lawyer to deal with but now he had Lily. Again the renegade legal agent would have to be put on back burner, he couldn't just leave Lily on her own and dropping her off with, well he wasn't even going to go there. He wasn't sure how Maeve would take to him dropping off a kid on her doorstep, unannounced at that. Frankly he didn't want to find out but the truth was sooner or later he was going to have to either let someone in on what he did or leave Lily on her own. He had to go to work to make a living but Rapture was just too dangerous for him to be comfortable with leaving Lily alone in his apartment even if it was locked up. Damn if his life didn't get more and more complicated every time he thought it would settle down for a bit. Fat chance. Regardless of the difficulty, Lily was worth it and he didn't regret it in the least.

The smugglers backed away and avoided him as he stepped by their location to leave the Fisheries. A simmering glower was bestowed upon the group as he picked up a suitcase at their feet. At least they'd unloaded Lily's damn luggage, meaning she didn't have to start from the ground up in possessions and belongings. Not that he would have begrudged spending money on clothes and toys for her. He very much intended to see to that.

He had assumed that with all the excitement of her escape attempt she'd fall asleep in his arms or on the way home but she just stared quietly out of the windows and viewpoints, stared at the place that would be her home now. He felt as though she was studying it, judging it but she offered no comment. Waiting for her to comment was like waiting for a blow to fall, he was sure she was going to turn to him and say 'is this the best he could give her?' When she finally did speak it took him by surprise, "Why is the City sunken? How can everyone live here if the city is drowning?"

An instinctive smile sprang upon his face, the question was adorably worded and it instantly put him at ease. He'd clearly been expecting her to judge but Lily was a lot smarter than that, she'd ask and explore first, judge later. Clearly he didn't know her yet and he had to admit that in a lot of ways he had been assuming things about her experiences and personality because of how she'd likely been raised with Lila. He'd have to dispose of those stereotypes and learn about his child the way he should – first hand experience, "It didn't sink down here and we aren't drowning. It was built underwater, Lily?"

"Why?"

Damn how to explain all of it – Ryan's Great Chain, Lamb's Rapture Family, and Fontaine's smuggling bullshit. The irony of it was they all couldn't get along on the surface so they came down here only to fight amongst themselves. He barely understood it and he was in the middle of it all the time, "Because the people down here couldn't get along with the people above the sea, on the surface. Down here we call that 'topside'."

"Topside…," she repeated and quiet settled between them again, her eyes now falling on luminescent coral and plants, "The city's an eyesore but the sea is pretty."

Frankly anymore he agreed, the city was an eyesore, the buildings were as dark and foreboding as the individuals who inhabited them. Rapture wasn't the 'paradise' Ryan had envisioned, more like the 'perdition' that Lamb condemned it. In reflection it was no place to raise a child but there simply was no other way. He knew it was selfish but he wanted Lily with him, where in his opinion, she belonged. It was impossible to go to her so she'd been brought down here to him.

As they got to the last stop he scooped her up in his arms not wanting her to get lost in the crowds as they went home. Finally he set her down so he could grab the keys. She stared at him the whole time and he was slightly shaken by the intensity of her gaze. What was going on in that mind of hers? He buried the thought in the back of his mind, unlocked the door, pushed it open and escorted her inside quickly with a gentle yet firm hand upon her shoulder. He steered her free of the door then shut it once he got through. He still had her suit case in hand, "Well, uh, follow me, Lily."

He wanted to take her little hand; since he'd found her there had been very few excuses to touch her. Maybe he was overthinking it, that was likely but he felt like he should back off, let her come to him. Right now she was cradling a white bunny with floppy ears while looking around. Lily seemed so unsettled by Rapture, in that moment clinging to her toy for comfort she looked so vulnerable. She shouldn't have to go to a toy for comfort, he was here for her, finally he worked up his nerve, allowing his hand to take her tiny one. Lily warmly curled her fingers around a few of his in a tight hold. The touch buoyed him, "I love you very much, Lily, despite not being there in the beginning."

"Lily knows because Mommy told Lily," that was heartening to hear but he wanted her to know he loved her not be it was told to her but because he had shown her.

When they got to the room he put down the suitcase and turned on the lights. Again Lily peered around the room with that same feeling of looking for threats or trying to acclimate herself to the surroundings, "Uh…I know its not much I figured we could make your room pretty together."

"Lily would like that," again she was so quiet, maybe it was because she was tired.

"Are you tired? Let's get you settled down for bed? What are you used to? How did Mommy do it?"

She shuffled her feet, looking down nervously, "Mommy played a music box for Lily…," the tone was quiet, almost mournful, no doubt she was missing her mother terribly. It broke his heart all over again, he'd never had the chance to say good-bye to Lila but Lily was so young and no longer had the only parent she'd ever been close to nor had she been expecting the loss. If there was one thing Lila could be faulted for it was the fact she didn't prepare Lily for her death, for the fact that one day she wasn't going to be there, she'd be dead leaving her to her failure of a Father, a man she was equally unsure of how to approach, "You miss her, it is understandable, I do too. Let's get that music box out shall we?"

"Lily doesn't have it anymore, Lily brought it down but," she sounded like she was on the verge of tears, "but Lily, Lily lost it."

"Where? We can get it…"

"On the way here, Lily was on the ship all lonely and unhappy, she was playing the music box but then one of the awful smelling men Daddy had bring Lily down here took it. Lily tried to get him to give it back but he said he didn't have it and then Lily got in trouble with Mr. Watson because Lily wasn't very nice in lying to him and accusing someone else…," by the end of the retelling she was crying and he knew he had to take charge of it. One of those bastards shook down his own daughter?

Bad part was he had a funny idea WHO did it. Fontaine wasn't the 'fairest' individual when it came to profit which meant a lot of those who worked under him tried to cut the corners whenever they could, sometimes trying to pinch extra pennies off of the clients. No one would DARE pull such a thing with Reox but Lily? They would do that to her in a heartbeat. It pissed him off to see them take advantage of her helplessness and youth. His mouth tightened in fury but he managed to contort it into a smile, "Well then let's go get it back shall we, Lily?"

"Can we?" she said, her tears stopping enough for her to wipe her face.

"Yes," he didn't want to consider what the train fare would cost to ride it down to Neptune's Bounty AGAIN but he'd not see her denied a sentimental comfort that was of such importance to Lily. Regardless of what she said about not being able to sleep he noticed signs of her being tired, the subtle yawn or the way she curled at his side and nuzzled into the arm around her. Regardless she stayed up the whole way, as if she was damned determined to get back her music box before succumbing to sleep. A smile curved at his lips, she reminded him a lot of Lila with that stubborn spirit. Finally they'd backtracked all the way, with Lily being so tired in general he scooped her up in his arms only to put her down, "Lily?"

"Yes?"

"Daddy's needs to keep his hands free, do you know how to piggy back?"

"To what?" she sounded genuinely confused.

He blinked, had no one even given her piggyback rides? It was such an elementary experience that every child should at least know about if not experience once, "Daddy was wondering if you could ride on his back. Here, let me show you," he gave her a boost to where each hand was holding onto a shoulder, "there you go now put your arms around my neck. Good and hold on."

He knew exactly where to go. Old Sam was an elderly smuggler, oldest man on the crew who also had a propensity for cutting corners by gouging 'extra' profit out of the weaker clients by way of robbing them blind of possessions when they weren't looking and hocking the stuff once he got back to Rapture.

"Hey Sam," Reox smiled brilliantly at Sam which instantly put the old man at unease. Yep, DEFINITELY guilty.

"Eh, Reox, I'm doin' nothing, nothing illegal!"

"You sure about that?"

"Yes'r, fairly sure!" Still he was scrambling around like mad to gather his merchandise and flee.

Reox grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and shook him around to be face to face with him, "Stealing isn't legal, Sam."

"I wasn't stealing, I haven't stealed!"

"You want to look at this girl on my shoulder straight in the eye and call her liar? I already heard you done so once, made her look like a fool when she tried to confront you for her music box. So I ask you again, you sure you aren't doing anything down here that gives me reason to haul your ass in?"

"You can have it! Take it, take it, just let Old Sammy go," Reox put the guy down and thumped him over the head once he handed over the music box. "Here you go, kiddo," Reox handed it over his shoulder with care into Lily's keeping who hugged it closely to her as her Daddy rounding on the terrified smuggler, "Get out of here, Sam! Don't let me see you anymore tonight!"

Or he was liable to do more than give him a good thumpin', he'd hand his ass to him. There was perks to be part of the law enforcement down here, meant he could dish out pain on a whim. A smuggler wouldn't fall under any protections Ryan offered his own which meant they were all terrified of him and what he could do. With care he doubled back, bought the tickets, then situated Lily beside him. He gave her a smile, "Can I see?

Lily looked down at her feet, hands still enclosed around the music box, finally she seemed to debate that because he got it back she could share it with him. She held it out on her hands, palm up. The music box was old and worn, made of wood and metal, it was instantly recognizable. The thing was old and it was the work of his own two hands, he'd made it for Lila perhaps it was fitting that she'd given it to Lily. It made him happy to know that it had not only been of great value to the mother but also to their shared daughter, "Its very nice," he said offering a strained smile to her as memories of Lila rose back up in the back of his mind.

Instantly Lily's face brightened, clearly she agreed, confirming it with her words "Oh yes," her smile at him was genuine and some of the awkwardness faded. Reox having the sense that in helping her get back the music box he didn't only get back a valuable possession but he'd altered her own view of him for the better. Instead of a subdued, uncertain quiet rooted partially in fear she now seemed to kind of admire him with reverent awe. Where before she kept at least a few inches between them most of the time, she now she sat close to him, close enough for him to feel her short tiny leg brush against his or feel the heel of her shoes to knock into the back of his legs as she sat down beside him facing inward. There was still a long way to go before he obtained her complete trust but this was a promising start especially on the first night, only a few hours in after their first meeting in fact.

Lily was seated beside him as a child might be while a parent, either mother or father, read a book, looking on the pages while strong hand held it steady before her eyes and a soft soothing voice of the reader washed over her bestowing a feeling of peaceful relaxation. He wanted that opportunity with her, that one and so many others, mentally he put that on the list of things to do for Lily. To get her books and toys so that Rapture would not be quite so dull and they could build memories off every 'little improvement' they made in his life for her. Quietly he looked down at the music box, winding it all the way. Within moments the little girl was sleeping, her head upon his lap and her tiny form stretched across the seat of the Atlantic Express train car.

When it came to their stop he carefully placed the music box inside his coat, picked her up carefully so as not to wake her and headed home. He unlocked the door, stepping inside and instantly went for her room, placing her down upon the bed and covering her with several blankets worried she might catch cold without several to bundle upon her. Then he went to the kitchen, laying out a plate of water and cookies just in case she'd wake up and get hungry. In the back of his mind he knew it wasn't 'healthy' per say but he'd get a better snack for her in time, it would do for now, for tonight. Before he'd go to sleep himself, he doubled back to the doorway of her room just to make sure she was all right, safe. In sleep she was just as adorable as she was awake and he smiled down upon her as his hand reached into his jacket, pulling out the music box and setting it down on a bedside table next to the bed. Just as Lily had turned his long meaningless existence into a true life with purpose, so did she turn his house into a true home, just with her mere presence.


	6. First Meeting

**First Meeting**

* * *

><p>Through the haze of his sleepiness he heard the alarm dully buzzing in the distance, his arm snapping out with practiced precision (even in sleep) to press the snooze to shut it up while he shut it off. He yawned, rubbing his eyes as he brought his feet over the side of the bed so he was sitting upright. He was trying to recall WHAT had him so damn tired and in an instant he remembered – Lily. Last night he'd gone to get Lily and gone above and beyond for…a music box. God, child or not, he wasn't the brightest crayon in the box in the morning even with decent sleep. This called for his cure to morning sluggishness, the emergency stimulant – coffee!<p>

Picking up a bathrobe off the floor he started for the door as he slipped it on his shoulders. Normally he'd walk around the apartment in pants alone no problem but he was not going to go out to kitchen half-undressed with Lily living in. For good measure to keep himself covered he secured the robe on him with a sash around the waist. A preliminary check of the house was that Lily wasn't up yet or didn't appear to be. The house was too quiet for her to be up unless she was the world's quietest kid which, in retrospect, was entirely possible since so far she had been shy, withdrawn, and silent.

He placed the coffee grounds and started boiling the water, leaving it to turn around to see what needed to be done. All things considered the apartment was cleaner than it had ever been. A smile quirked at the edges of his mouth as he saw the plate of cookies had been 'picked clean' sometime during the night leaving crumbs all over the plate and counter and the water half drunk. Maybe she was up, a check of her room revealed that she wasn't though.

The room was alarmingly bare and the only thing filling it besides the girl asleep in bed was the music box and the girl's suitcase. He picked it up, placing it on the foot of the bed and opening to see what kind of clothes she brought with her. Only to be shocked to see she brought absolutely NO clothes with her, the entire suitcase was filled with dolls – toys! What kind of person would forget to pack her the essential needs? In hindsight, considering what was brought, it was likely Lily packed without anyone's supervision and took what she wanted to, not what she needed to. Still someone should have checked what Lily was packing. Even more sickening was the realization that the dress she currently wore was likely the only article of clothing she had and therefore the only thing she wore the entire journey here. The entire journey took a damn month; they'd have to fix that...TODAY! Thank god for his positive cash flow meant he could afford to burn a lot of it. Of late many didn't have that luxury but in Rapture fortunately siding with the 'law', with Ryan meant you were left well in pocket.

He wondered if he should wake her up and decided against it, he could afford to let her sleep in while he got around to doing his morning routine – getting dressed eventually and drinking coffee. He quietly closed the door, picking up a mug of coffee, then headed for the living room. On the living room table the 'Rapture Tribune' was scattered everywhere to where the wood and glass was no longer visible beneath the old newspapers. They were fairly recent. Now he wasn't so 'domesticated' a man to read the paper out of choice, oh no he read the Rapture Tribune because it made his life as part of security of a hell of a lot easier if he kept up with past and current events.

In the middle of reading when he heard a door open and close, he assumed it was Lily, but then felt someone fling her arms around his neck, moments later he felt lithe legs beneath a short skirt spread open against his side, rubbing a provocative invitation over his cock. The coffee cup clattered to the floor, spilling hot liquid all over the living room floor, he almost jumped out of his skin as an arousal surged to life as Maeve finally laid a passionate kiss upon his lips. He ALMOST forgot about Lily, would have damn well taken a strange woman right there in front of her if she hadn't caught his attention and brought it back to her, "Daddy? Who is she?"

Her tone sounded lost, forlorn, and…unmistakably upset, in an instant he pushed Maeve off him and walked across the searing trail of spilt coffee to get to Lily, "Lily, this is Maeve, she's my lady…friend," he finished lamely.

Just in time for Maeve to recover and round on him, suddenly she looked at Lily, blinking a bit dumbly in mute surprise before, "Who is she?"

Maeve sounded like she was somewhere near panic or at least alarmed by Lily's appearance, nevertheless her voice seemed to demand an explanation, "Lily-Maeve. Maeve-Lily."

"WHO is she?"

"And what's a 'Lady Friend'?"

Clearly a first name basis wasn't enough, didn't tell Maeve what she wanted to know. He subtly avoided Lily's question by answering Maeve's, Reox certainly wasn't going to go into the complexities behind the relationship he had with Maeve, sometimes he barely understood it himself, "She's my daughter."

"A kid? Since when did you have a KID? And with who?"

"With Lila."

It took Maeve less than a minute to puzzle that he'd somehow smugged Lily in, nevertheless she held onto the hope he hadn't done just that, "How did she get down here?"

Silence stretched on between them, Lily took the opportunity to answer for herself, "In a sinking ship (submarine) duh!"

"Oh you did not…that is an extreme length to go for visitation privileges."

"Maeve, I…I snuck her down into Rapture but this isn't visitation, this is a for-good arrangement. She doesn't have anyone else, nowhere else she can go. I'm her Daddy and all she has left."

"Are, are you serious? This is serious stuff, Reox! I know you are smart enough to know that. If you get 'found out' you're a DEAD man!"

Clearly Maeve still wasn't used to having an onlooker in the form of a little girl like Lily who instantly asked, "Daddy isn't really going to die for this is he?"

Reox took a moment to glower at Maeve. She really needed to watch what she said around Lily and right now, at that moment, the last thing he needed was for Lily to fall to pieces while he was sorting out this MESS.

"Don't be silly," he said softly with conviction as he knelt down and brought her into an embrace, kissing her forehead, "I promise you Daddy will be just fine so don't worry about me," he he'd out his pinkie finger, "Pinky promise."

"Pinky promise?" she said quietly, not getting what he meant anymore than she had known about piggy back rides. Had NO adults played with her on the surface? "She said you were going to die!" she flung an accusing look at Maeve who was now regretting her lack of foresight to confront him about this AWAY from the girl and trying to look inconspicuous.

Reox shook his head, "I won't let that happen, don't worry kiddo. I'll be just fine, I'm a hard man to kill," he chuckled as he went into explaining the significance of a pinky promise, "A pinky promise is when you make a very special promise that we can't break."

"Okay, pinky promise," instead of offering her own, her tiny fingers wrapped themselves around his pinky and gave it a good shake like she would do if shaking his hand."

That got a delighted laugh out of him, it was so unexpected but adorable as hell, "Why don't you go play while I finish talking to Maeve, then I'll get us some breakfast," he added brightly and then watched Lily bound off before he turned back to the dark haired woman, he had a stellar memory and was able to recall right where their conversation left off before Lily, "If I wasn't serious Lily wouldn't be here, would she? I already told you I didn't have much of a choice, her mother is dead – buried in the grave for months now, she's got no other relatives – she's a virtual orphan except for me, what was I supposed to do other than bring her down here? You know and I know what is at stake but if anyone finds out about her, there can be only ONE person in the whole of Rapture I can blame. I trust you but if you cross me…I will find you, doesn't matter how deep into Rapture you go," he didn't want to make it sound like a threat but it obviously was one, he'd protect Lily even from Maeve if he needed to.

"I'm not going to tell but God, Reox there are always ways to find out what others don't want you to. Ryan doesn't always need words to ferret out the truth especially when it 'jeopardizes' his city to parasites. You know damn well how he feels about the smuggling and you are right in the thick of it!"

"Keeping Lily a secret has worked out quite well for me so far, it's not like I can send her back nor will I turn her away from the only home she's got left. I'll just have to make do."

"When were you going to tell me this?"

"Eventually."

"When?"

"When I found a good explanation that you'd accept without freaking out."

"I'm freaking out now!"

"My point exactly! Listen, Maeve, you've got to leave, okay? I need to get Lily some breakfast then take her out shopping, the girl's got nothing to wear besides what is on her."

"I KNEW there was a reason you were putting me off, you've been cancelling any and all get togethers for a month. You don't come to my place, I don't come to yours, all because you were hiding THIS! And here I assumed this was some elaborate scheme to 'break off' with me, is it?"

"No, Maeve," he wanted to facepalm, how could she have a moment of insecurity at a time like this? "Lily just got down here, Maeve, I'm trying to get her used to Rapture and she's just lost her mother, I just can't introduce and force one more new thing into her life right now. Give me time, give her time, please?"

"Alright," she agreed finally then knelt so she'd be eye level with Lily who upon receiving personal attention from Maeve was hiding behind his leg, white floppy ear bunny doll in tow, "It was nice meeting you, Lily."

A first he thought she wasn't going to say anything, just hide behind him, being shy and unresponsive. Again, he was wrong, her tone was blunt and clear, a lot like his own when he meant business; "Go away."

Maeve's eyes widened in shock as his closed in mortification but he supposed it was to be expected after she walked in on them, what a disaster…he needed a damn smoke, "Lily…," she just walked off in the middle of his reproach and Reox didn't have the heart to really tell her off, what did she do wrong really? "You better go, Maeve."

"Charming girl…," she said, her mouth a thin livid line of disapproval barely kept in check.

"She'll get better," he promised but he wasn't really sure about it but he knew that if it came down to choosing Lily or Maeve, his daughter or his lover, Lily would always come first. After Maeve departed he went to the kitchen, grabbed a towel and cleaned up the spilt coffee and broken glass in the living room. Lily, obviously feeling guilty, tried to help him but he told her to leave it to him, he didn't want her to get hurt trying to help him pick up broken glass. He finally tipped the shards into a trash can whipping out a breakfast of cinnamon sugar toast and scrambled eggs, "There you go, kiddo," he closed the door, put a cig between his lips, and lit it with a match. He took his first drag when he heard the kitchen stool creak in protest against the wood floorboards, followed by tiny patter of footsteps heading for the direction of his room, oh shit…

"Daddy?"

Her voice sounded lost and forlorn again, broke his heart, "Lily is sorry, very sorry, are you mad at me?"

Oh hell, she thought his need to be alone was sign of his being mad at her for the disaster with Maeve, a disaster that was not her fault or of her making, "I'm not mad at you, Lily. Daddy just needs to get dressed," he lied easily, "go eat your breakfast ok?"

"Okay," she agreed and he could hear her heading back to the kitchen. What a damn day and it wasn't yet 9'o'clock. He finished the cigarette then made himself an honest man by getting dressed, "Now…," he said as he came out into the kitchen, "you want to tell me why you don't have any clothes, Little Missy? Why your suitcase is full of just toys?"

"They aren't JUST toys, Daddy," she said, "they're Lily's friends, there wasn't room with all the clothes in there so Lily made some only the clothes didn't fit after that so Lily left them behind because it isn't nice to leave your friends behind!" she declared in a matter-of-fact tone.

He was bemused, trying hard not to crack up laughing, it was so darn adorable but he didn't want Lily to think he was laughing at her, "Alrighty then, I guess we'll need to go shopping for some clothes."

Lily gave him a sullen look, "But clothes are boring, Daddy!"

"Well, if you go with me maybe we can pick out some cute dresses and then make a detour to the toy store to get a new doll," of yes, he was going to spoil her.

"Why don't Daddy go do it?"

"Because Daddy might pick out the ugly dolls and dresses," frankly he was surprised she didn't show more of a zeal for shopping, isn't that the kind of things ladies like to do? True Lily was young but he had expected she'd like shopping unless...,"Lily?"

"Yes, Daddy?"

"Have you ever gone shopping before?"

"Lily never had to, other people did it," well, that might explain her reluctance, no doubt she wanted to have fun and play without realizing that shopping itself could be a pleasing experience. What women didn't like to shop? What lady didn't like to be spoiled or made to feel 'special' especially young girls?

"I think you will like it if you give it a chance," he said with a knowing smile that the little girl might like it so much as to get addicted to it. Reox had a GUT feeling his 'spending' would increase with Lily in his life because he'd have a piss poor time of being able to tell her 'no'. He reached to clean up her breakfast mess along with plate of cookie crumbs from last night, tapping her lightly on the nose as she finished her milk, "Go brush your teeth, I got you a toothbrush, in that bathroom over there," anticipating she'd balk or try to get out of doing he added, "or the sugar in those cookies last night will rot your teeth and they'll all fall out."

Lily eyes bulged in terror, her pout replaced with a solemn expression as she hastened to listen to his directions, running for the bathroom. Involuntarily he smiled, she was so much like him in trying to get away with whatever she could. Only she was trying to play the same tricks he had as a young boy (and still sometimes did as an adult) but the truth was it wasn't going to work. As a rule tricks and techniques lost their effectiveness against those who knew of AND used said techniques themselves.

His joy at being a parent was only ruined by the sobering fact Maeve had been so quick to point out; he couldn't keep Lily a secret forever. Nor was it 'right' to expect her to forever be a wallflower, a secret shadow of his life that he kept to himself while denying her existence to the public at large. He couldn't keep her cooped up in the apartment forever, she needed fresh air and freedom just as much as the next man or woman in Rapture but still any time he took her out and she was associated with him, it was a risk. The best solution would be to feed everyone a story but put a spin on it until interest died down. That and sooner or later he'd have to make Lily aware that her presence was less than legal, hers AND the lawyer. He'd held onto the hope he might find the lawyer while they were out shopping, there was always a chance.

Lily came back and smiled broadly so he could see her clean teeth, he smiled praising her, "Good job, shall we get going?"

"Okay, Daddy," already at home Lily was proving to be an easy-going, happy little girl but out in public she seemed to withdraw, growing shy and cautious. The boundless energy she showed around the house simmered to a stop, almost as if she knew not to draw attention to them, to herself. She was no longer awed by being underwater, the novelty of that had already 'worn off' – he knew the feeling, after the element of surprise wore off Rapture seemed to draw on you. He decided they should hit the toy shop first, if only to keep spirits up. Then she finally spoke up, as usual her question hit him in the face from out of nowhere, "Where are all the other children?"

Children weren't all that common, they weren't rare he was sure they were around but since the splicing business went public in a 'BAD' way he was sure any sane parent was keeping them safe and likely out of public where the 'crazies' were spliced stupid. He wasn't even prepared to explain that to Lily yet. Frankly he didn't even want Lily out 'too long' he was confident he could protect her but that didn't mean he wanted to test that confidence to the point of arrogance.

"There are a few down here," he said a bit uncomfortably then followed up with a half truth," they live in different sectors though so I doubt you'll see many," it wasn't a lie, children did live in other parts of Rapture, most of them so unsavory and dangerous that he'd never let Lily go within riding distance of them if he could help it.

"Sec-tors?" Lily tried out the word on her tongue as Reox hastened to explain, he was eager to quell the conversation out of these dangerous waters through truthfully he realized that the current conversation might be motivated by Lily's wish to have playmates of her own age, stature, and interests. When he'd been her age he'd had Lila and had never wanted for any other company even if she'd been a girl.

"Rapture is separated into different sectors, kind of like pieces of a puzzle, but it's to keep the place organized."

"But why are there so few down here?" she said persistently.

Reox had the distinct and sinking sensation that Lily was lonely for company of her own age, company he could not provide. For now he couldn't answer her. With glaring obviousness it came to his attention that the reason she played with dolls and thought of them with such an illusion of 'realness' was because they were all she had. Her childish perceptions of them didn't arise from a regular child's love of toys. Lily had been raised away from the other kids, ostracized by her high status. She couldn't play with the other kids because they weren't of 'her class'. She was lonely and a part of her was looking for an end to the loneliness, she was looking for the playmates she'd been denied above surface down here with him.

How could he explain the danger of this city to her, he was relieved to be waylaid in that by the welcome distraction of the toy store. He had intended to take her for clothes first so the toys would not distract her needlessly but he seamlessly fit in the detour to derail this train of thought on her part, desperate and eager for the distraction it's appearance offered, "Why don't you look around and pick out a doll you like?"

Reox altogether hoped to avoid further questioning about the lack of children (or pursuing company of other children) beyond the borders of what parts of Rapture were safe. He'd tell her 'no', play hard ass if he had to but deep down he would prefer that it never come to that.

Lily gave him no difficulty there, she perked up, "Okay Daddy," and off she went only to return moments later surprisingly empty-handed, "Come over here, Daddy, Lily is going to show you the purty dolls from the ugly ones!"

She grabbed his hand and started dragging him over or as much as a five year old could. Obviously remembering his idle threat that she HAD to come else he'd pick out an ugly doll. A smile couldn't help but spring to his face, Reox chuckled at that, letting her drag him around, "Alright then, show me what's pretty and what isn't."

"These are the pretty ones!" she declared pointing at the all the dolls tailored towards little girls, dolls complete with bows and ribbons, lace and dresses.

"Those are the ugly one's!" she said pointing to the boyish toys.

Again he had to quell the urge to laugh, taking his toy 'education' with equanimity, "Ah, I see now. So which of the pretty dolls are you going to choose?" Again amused at that, of course she'd think the boyish toys were ugly!

"You are going to choose, Daddy should choose now that he knows the purty ones from the bad ones!"

It was clear if she didn't like what he choose she'd just mix things up and choose what she liked anyways but she was testing her 'teaching methods', how well she had taught him to gauge if he could pick out something she'd like. Reox was determined not to fail her even in this small test. He might well NEVER be able to give her the kind of high-style living she was accustomed to but he'd see that she'd never be denied or want for the love of a father, "I'm going to choose? Alright, alright…," he looked up and down the row of dolls. His trained eyes noticing details like some of the dolls weren't so well stitched or made properly. Finally he found a doll that was both 'pretty' and sturdily well made. Blonde hair, teal dress and heels, the doll reminded him a lot of Lila and, of course, bore resemblance to Lily as well, "How about this one?"

"Ooooooh, Lily likes, she's very pretty! Looks a lot like Mommy, see the eyes," she said, her small index finger pointing out the fact they were blue. His lids flickered shut for a moment, to hide the way his eyes glazed over with sadness then he blinked and it was gone, "Yeah, very pretty indeed. Let's go buy this one and take her home with us," he gave a soft chuckle that wasn't entirely honest but Lily didn't notice the falseness of his humor. However Lily's joy for a new toy was too infectious for his spirits to stay down, by the time they reached the counter he'd picked out a few choice accessories to surprise her with. He couldn't help but spoil her just a little bit. Lily cooed in joy over the new possessions she got that he scarcely paid attention to the shop keeper until the purchase was being completed. Reox carefully did the math of it in his head, making sure he wasn't being gouged for more than his fair share. The shopkeeper's gratitude broke through his calculations, "Thankee for the business. Pretty cute niece you got there. I assume that considering you ain't a regular customer but she gots the eyes," he'd noticed the fact Lily got his eyes, "she a brother or sister's kid?"

The shopkeeper was just asking a polite question, making small talk. No doubt he was trying to be friendly, to make sure that he'd keep Reox coming to his business for future visits.

Lily started spouting out an answer with surprising speed, "He's my-!"

"She's my brother's but he passed on," Reox lied quickly; he couldn't tell him that she was HIS kid and the shopkeeper had offered him an ideal lie.

The shopkeeper nodded, "Probably helping her Mama out by watching her, if she's a widow she is probably working, "Have a good day."

"Alright, let's keep going shall we? Say thank you to the nice man, Lily," he picked up the bag, taking Lily by the hand. He barely gave her time to stay it before he shuffled her out the door. He just couldn't say that Lily was his, he was too well known by most and a careless truth could travel around and back, landing his ass in hot water.

"Why did you lie?" Lily said, turning on him. She didn't rat him out in the middle of his lie but instead waited until they were out of earshot to talk to him, perhaps she was smarter than he initially gave her credit for but he didn't like the conclusion she got out of his little white lie, "Are you, are you ashamed of Lily?"

"No," he said in vehement denial, "It's not that," Reox said with the shake of his head. He then took a look around to see if anyone was around before he knelt down to her level, he felt eye contact was…important for the kind of discussion they were going to have right now, "You see…people from the surface aren't allowed down here without an invite. Daddy has one but I, Daddy snuck you into Rapture without anyone knowing. If anyone found out what I did we'd be in BIG trouble. Do you understand?"

"Daddy broke the law?" she sounded both shocked and impressed, shocked he did something BAD but no doubt impressed he did it for her. It was obvious her brain was making the connection between what she was learning now with Maeve's grim prediction that he'd be in trouble, DEEP trouble if he was caught. It didn't take her long to figure out big trouble might mean he'd die, "So Lily isn't allowed? Does Lily have to go away?"

She suddenly sounded a bit scared, as if she was expecting she'd get chucked out into the ocean, left to fend for herself against barracudas or left to die by drowning

"Yes, something like that, it's actually the only law in this place...," he paused, shaking his head to her second question, "no, no you don't as long as we don't tell anyone your from the surface. We'll be fine okay?"

"So you are hiding Lily? Hiding like in a game? Like hide and seek?" now she sounded excited as though that would make the hiding fun.

Reox couldn't help but chuckle, "Something like that but this is our secret okay? No one else can know."

"Okay, Lily will keep the secret safe," she agreed as he pet her head and rose from kneeling down next to her.

"Let's go home shall we? It's pretty crowded out here," in truth the near-miss at the toy store had unnerved him, he didn't want anyone getting suspicious of his actions.

"But we forgot clothes, Daddy…," she said reminding him of the REAL reason they came out and about because she had unpacked and left all her clothes at home.

Reox just blinked at that at her reminder and it wasn't really something they could afford to skip, "Oh yes I almost forgot. You can't wear that dress forever can you?"

With care he straightened up, carefully taking her hand in his own as they continued on their way to the clothes store before he had the opportunity to forget about it again.


	7. Rune

As it turns out shopping very much agreed with Lily, Reox got the distinct feeling she had enjoyed playing dress up, picking out and trying on new clothes. Lily was surprisingly intuitive for her age, after the close call at the toy store she started taking her cues from him. Reox was glad that she could appreciate the severity of the situation if sorry that he had to hide her as though shamed. Eventually, to Lily's disappointment, he called the shopping excursion to a halt. He wanted to return home before the rowdier night crowds came out to cause trouble.

On the way back he purchased them some dinner to go from the local diner. Normally when he was on his own he'd never bothered to keep food in his home or to learn how to cook. Now that he had Lily he figured he should learn a bit so that the poor girl wouldn't go hungry from his lack of culinary ability. That was not the only nor likely to be the last change Lily brought into his life. In time he'd have to return to work and though he wanted to continue spending time with Lily the sooner the better. Reox had a reputation, he never called in and rarely took vacation, those had been a few reasons why Ryan liked him so much, he was a true embodiment of the 'Great Chain' His absence was ten times more suspicious than his presence ever was. He didn't want suspicions to be roused enough to encourage some to poke around.

The only problem was Reox didn't have many people he trusted, in fact the only person he'd trusted since coming to Rapture was Maeve and that trust had been built steadily over time. At first Maeve had simply paid for the companionship of her body; her discretion had been implied by the fact most don't bite the hand that feeds them but in the later years Reox felt like their relationship had gone from business arrangement to friendship to something more. Reox wasn't ready for any of the hardcore commitment he knew she desired but he continued to act as her patron: he financially supported her and protected her from being pushed around by other men meanwhile Maeve kept herself clean and celibate (except for him). The arrangement gave Maeve the blessing of spare time, time she usually spent doing something for Reox.

Though he was sure that Maeve would consent if he asked her to, he had to admit he had a certain reluctance to ask Maeve to watch Lily after their disastrous introductions this morning. Frankly he didn't think he had any other option though and on the way home he debated the best way to prepare Lily and cajole Maeve into taking on what was sure to be an unhappy and awkward arrangement. On the way back home, he leave a note for Maeve in her empty apartment asking for her to come to his place well after he planned to have Lily asleep in bed. He was glad he made the hour especially late because it took him awhile to settle Lily down. It seemed as if she knew what he was up to, trying to get her off to sleep so she wasn't around.

When Maeve arrived he could instantly tell that she was unhappy, displeased in her displacement, at suddenly being forced to see him in the after hours of night. Though Reox knew Maeve was street smart, he felt bad. In hindsight he realized that while the late hour was ideal for secrecy, it was far from convenient for Maeve. He shouldn't have asked her to come this late, the streets weren't safe at the best of times and right now Rapture wasn't at its best. Her tone was only slightly warmer than her body language, "You wanted to see me?"

He was honestly surprised that she showed, he had expected her to say something along the lines of 'no' or to blow him off altogether not that he wouldn't have deserved it. She likely held a grudge at being kept in the dark about Lily to begin with, he'd already downscaled his contact with her steadily over a month's time and now he wanted to ask a favor of her. He wished he was more prepared; he hadn't been able to set up anything special to 'thaw' her mood. Except he did have some wine stashed away, he wasn't big on wine but Maeve was, now was as good a time as any, "Would you like a drink?"

Maeve glanced at him; likely after all he'd pulled she was enjoying watching him squirm a bit. She exhaled a sigh, clearly having a difficult time staying mad at him, "A small one, I need to get home soon. I'm watching Rune again. You remember him right?"

"He's your neighbor's kid right?"

"Mhmm," Maeve took a sip of the wine he proffered her, she gave a sound of approval, clearly enjoying the smooth taste of the vintage. Reox was glad the gesture was not wasted on her, Maeve, much like Lila, loved the 'finer things in life' and took pleasure in small pleasures like smells and tastes no matter how brief. Reox is betting putting the wine 'on ice' was the best decision he made all night, then her voice brought him straight down to business, "So let's get to the point. I know you, Reox, I know that you won't do 'anything' with Lily around so you have to have me here for a reason."

Reox sighed knowing no way to avoid it or dance around her direct inquiry, "I need to go back to work. I can't take Lily with and I can't leave her on her own."

"You clearly didn't think any of these things through did you? What did you think that you'd just bring her down here and magically things would fall into place? I know I shouldn't," Maeve knew that if she helped him, things WOULD magically fall into place for him and he'd learn no lessons from this fiasco. Reox's brand of recklessness was the kind that could get him killed. In Rapture if you didn't think things through then you were dead but then she didn't have a choice. The deed was done, the child was down here illegally and if she didn't do this, Reox would be caught and in a world of trouble. Her hand was forced by her love of him. She had to admit in the back of her mind, her decision was also a selfish one. As a 'kept' woman under patronage Reox supported her and without work he wouldn't have the means to pay her. Then she looked at him, his earnest face only making her decision all the more set in stone. She knew that things would be uncomfortable between her and the girl but she couldn't deny him this, her exhale was clearly a surrender, "I'll do it."

Maeve had never been able to deny him anything, she placed her glass down and gave him a kiss, "I better get going, you're not the only one watching a little one."

"I wish you didn't have to return home tonight. I would feel better if you didn't roam the streets this late. I wasn't thinking when I asked this of you."

Maeve smiled, placing a finger to his lips and kissed him again, "You made the request and I made the choice to come. I'll be all right; I know the streets and where to place my feet. So when are you going back?"

"Tomorrow night."

"My place or yours?"

"Yours, if you don't mind."

"I'll see you tomorrow then," regardless of what she said to Reox she was quick to hurry home. Maeve only relaxed when she turned the deadbolt lock and crept to the room adjacent to her own. There a young boy slept, her Rune, her little secret. Already he possessed his Father's brooding green eyes and she knew that as he aged his face would bear the similar lines and angles that she loved in his Daddy. When their agreement had started out years ago, the use of contraceptives had been non-negotiable. Reox had told her quite plainly that he didn't plan to take a wife and if he didn't have time for a wife, he didn't want to bring a child into the world. Maeve had agreed easily to those terms, no prostitute wanted issue to tie them down at least she hadn't until she realized that she was in love with him, that she wanted something to keep of him, something that would be hers and hers alone. In an instant she'd made a selfish decision to stop using the contraceptive measures and Rune was the result.

For a long time she had rationalized it in her mind, saying that she'd support and care for the child on her own – a personal mandate she just barely accomplished. More than once she thought about telling Reox about Rune but the thought of betraying his trust, of disappointing her beloved always held her back. Just a little bit longer she wanted to keep him to herself. Her hands brushed a stray lock of his hair, as a child she could hide his paternity but come adolescence and adulthood no one would be able to deny he was Reox's child. Maeve bent down, laying a kiss upon her son's head and with one last look at his sleeping visage she went to bed.

* * *

><p>Lily was not pleased but at least her refusals had subsided and stopped towards early afternoon. By then she had accepted her fate and decided she was going to give him the silent treatment. Reox immediately took advantage of that and fit a two-hour nap in before fixing her a sandwich for dinner. He knew that it wouldn't tide her over for long but it was better than nothing, he really needed to stop by a grocery store. No way he was going to be able to feed a ravenous six-year-old girl on a bachelor's diet.<p>

Reox didn't have much in the way of options or choices when it came to solutions for child care but on the way he did reflect that to Lily the idea of another woman taking her mother's place after the death was so fresh was beyond distressing, it was distasteful enough that he felt obligated to level with her, "Lily, listen," he bent down on his knees and took her hands in his, he was glad she wasn't so mad she pulled away, "I know you don't like Maeve but you do understand that Daddy has to go to work and I can't leave you alone down here, it isn't safe so I need you to promise me that you'll at least listen to her. Maeve has lived down here a long time like Daddy she'll keep you safe when I can't. Will you let her do that for me?"

Lily glanced away but eventually her gaze returned to him, a petulant tone delivering her response, "Yes Daddy."

He smiled, "Good girl," he knocked on door, he heard a few locks sliding out of place just enough for Maeve to see it was them. She opened the door, giving Reox one of her smiles then looking down at Lily, "Good evening, Lily."

The girl stood stoic and stubborn for a moment then replied, "Evening," her tone was anything but polite but at least she'd responded, maybe the night wouldn't be so bad, "Has Lily eaten?"

"A sandwich," Reox's tone clearly said he didn't think it was much but at least he attempted to feed her.

"She can join Rune, he just sat down for dinner," Reox gave Maeve a look of gratitude, just another thing he had to take into consideration, he REALLY owed her a night out after all this, "Rune's inside, sitting at the table, help yourself."

Maeve moved aside to give Lily room to come into the apartment, she looked back at her Daddy, "Go on," he smiled, turning his attention on Maeve, "I owe you, Maeve."

She gave him one of her mischievous smiles, the kind of look he never would have seen on Lila's face. So badly he had wanted to tell Lily that Maeve wasn't there to be her Mother, wasn't there to replace Lila but he realized he couldn't in good faith say such a thing. From the beginning Maeve had been brought in and bought to drown out Lila's memory, to banish away what he could not have. She'd been everything Lily's mother had not been, both physically and in personality. Lila had been light skinned and possessed sun kissed features of an angel, Maeve was pale and dark proudly she wore the mantle of a fallen woman. Lila had been sweet, kind, innocent, and intelligent; Maeve was calculated, cunning, and seductive. There was no comparing the two but he knew his daughter could read between the lines and sense the underlying reason for their differences.

There were some days he wanted to make an honest woman of Maeve, if Lily hadn't come into his life he might've decided to take the plunge in the next year or so but Lily had come and she came first, taking the decision entirely out of his hands. In the future, it was very likely that Lily was going to need a mother, a mother that was NOT like Lila. Lila had given Lily everything she could but Lily was surface-born, raised on the surface where rules reigned, she had been taught and given every reason to believe that everyone in the world was sensible. In Rapture that couldn't be further from the truth, Lily's upbringing topside had done everything to handicap Lily down here. Lila's lessons to Lily would not help her here, under the sea in Rapture but Maeve's would.

He'd wait, he decided, wait for Lily and Maeve to get to know each other, maybe this babysitting arrangement would get them to open up. He knew one thing for certain Lily would have to open up to Maeve of her own volition if he and Maeve were going to ever work their way to anything long term or permanent.

Lily glanced around the apartment, it was neat enough but it wasn't as grand as Daddy's. She carefully stepped over to the table, her eyes coming to rest on a small figure sitting over a plate of food. Her bright green eyes meeting the boys as he looked at her. His hair was a brown so dark it almost looked black and his eyes were green. She had to admit he was kind of pretty, no handsome, for a boy. She remembered now, girls were pretty and men were considered handsome. She never understood why guys had to have there own separate word for being 'pretty'. Lily had to admit she was pretty excited to at last see another kid to play with, she didn't want to mess it up. Instantly her mind tried to recall all the things Mom had told her to do when first meeting someone.

Nervously she tucked her luminous blond hair behind her ear and gave him a smile, she curtsied with as much grace as she could muster, "I'm Lily, nice to meet you."

She didn't bother asking his name, if he had any manners or sense he'd give her his name to be polite. The boy, it seemed was NOT polite in the least. He blinked and stared at her for several long moments before erupting into a fit of childish giggling. His eyes lit up with mirth as he crammed his hands over his mouth in a failed attempt to quiet his laughter, "Heh, you talk funny."

Lily put her hands on her hips, "I do NOT!" she protested indignantly, "I am being polite which is the least you could do! You haven't even told me your name!"

Her outraged reaction only made him laugh harder, "You do, you talk like Mr. Ryan does," he grinned at her, giving her a toothy smile, "I'm Rune."

Lily didn't know who 'Mr. Ryan' was and she didn't much like getting laughed at. What kind of place was this that being polite to other made them make fun of you, "Well, Rune," she said putting an emphasis on his name, "you aren't much of a gentleman to laugh at a lady," she said in a cool tone with a frown pulling at her mouth. Even when he smiled at her it seemed as if he was laughing at her.

"But only adults are gen-tall-mans," he said stretching the words out as he had difficulty saying it properly, "I'm just a boy."

"You're wrong! My Mama said you are never too old or too young to be a gentleman or a lady."

While she'd been caught up in his chastisement of Rune, he'd pushed himself off his chair, ignoring his dinner in favor of getting a closer look at her. He gently touched a blond strand of hair that strayed from being tucked behind her ear, "You're pretty...are you a princess?"

His last words drew the rest of hers up short in its tracks; she had to admit she lost some of her steam when he complimented her. Maybe he wasn't totally rude after all. She always dreamed of being a Princess like any other girl did, "I'd like to be a Princess," she admitted, "My Mommy and Daddy always told me I was," but if she was a Princess they'd never told her what she was the Princess OF.

Rune looked skeptical, he gave her a dubious glance in disbelief but when he saw that she was being serious he gave her another grin and did a bow for her, "That better?"

Lily smiled at that, "Yes, much better," she meant his manners seemed to be getting better, clearly it would be up to her to teach him manners if he'd not been taught them by now, "So Rune is it?"

She circled him slowly, her green eyes looking him over then she gave him another radiant smile, "You are pretty cute too," she gave him a kiss on the cheek and passed him to go help herself to seeing what was on the table leaving him to recover from her words and the peck she'd given him on the cheek.

Rune blinked at the kiss, rubbing his cheek clean with his sleeve, "I'm NOT cute, cute is for girls! Imma big boy!" he protested as he followed her, taking a seat in his chair.

"Hand-some then," Lily said with a giggle, thoroughly enjoying teasing him now that the tables were turned.

Rune wrinkled his nose at that too, not seeming to like any of the words she used because he didn't understand them. He frowned a bit, looking at her like she was beyond understanding, "Are all girls like you?"

He went back to his food, his eyes on her as she debated her answer, "No they aren't. Is that good or bad?" She said as she helped herself to some of the food.

"I dunno, never met a girl before other than Maeve but she is a big girl, a true lady!"

This proclamation of his seemed to elicit doubt in Lily, she didn't agree in the least but she kept her dissent quiet, choosing to hold her tongue so she wouldn't start an argument with Rune. Maeve was not HALF the lady her mother had been. A woman was considered to be a lady if she had conduct and breeding and she doubted that Maeve had much of either, "My Mommy was as true a lady as you'd ever see and you'd agree if you'd ever seen her."

Rune seemed thoughtful, "Maybe. Where is your mommy?"

He asked without seeming to realize that it was a poor subject akin to stepping on her toes in an emotional sense. Lily froze, his question suddenly recalling her loss to the forefront of her mind, "I don't have one anymore...she has gone to Heaven as an angel," she said remembering what her Mommy had told her before she'd died.

"What's an angel?"

Lily glanced at him, sure that he was mocking her but one look at him and she realized he was asking the question truthfully, "They are beautiful ladies with wings and they do good things and protect people."

Rune frowned, not sure that what she was saying made sense. He didn't understand why angels would suddenly protect people because they died and how would they protect people when they were dead? He glanced to the doorway, Maeve was still there talking to the man who brought Lily, "Whose that guy who brought you?"

"That's my Daddy!" Lily sounded proud as she claimed him; Rune just stared at her, "You have a Daddy?"

"Of course I have a Daddy!"

"What's a Daddy like? I don't have one," he'd always been told by his Mother he didn't have a Daddy and he believed her until now, even though Lily was practically a stranger all the things she said planted new thoughts in his mind and he wasn't sure he liked them or her yet.

"How do you not have a Daddy? My Mama told me everyone has a Daddy and a Mommy because that is how the world is.

Rune frowned, Lily certainly had something to say about everything and she didn't have much tact, sometimes she said things that made him feel worse instead of better, "I jus' don't have one."

Lily glanced at the boy beside her, she'd had TWO Daddies and Rune didn't have one at all. That didn't seem fair at all. She glanced sympathetically at Rune and said contritely, "I suppose I could share my Daddy with you if you want," even that tone said she didn't sound sure she'd be happy to share but she was sure Daddy would be nice to Rune.

"Really?" Rune brightened up, plunging into a new arsenal of questions, "What's he like?"

"He's great!" she suddenly realized she said this all on faith, she scarcely knew the guy after only a few days, what she did know of him her mother had told her before her death.

"Great how?" Rune asked as Lily poked at his food, more interested in hearing her talk than his meal despite his hunger, "Is he brave and tough?"

"Of course he is, he went off to fight in a Great War to protect people," she spoke based on Lila's memory of World War II in which her Daddy had served only to come home to find his childhood sweetheart engaged to another.

"War? There was a war?" Obviously World War II had been before his time or Lily's and no knowledge of the surface was taught except of its evils.

"Yes, a great war that involved the whole world!" Lily wasn't sure Rune believed her and perhaps he though she was a liar, the more he asked about the surface the less she wanted to tell him because she was no liar and the surface had been her home, a beautiful home after the world settled down from two World Wars in favor of peace.

"Well if it did happen it didn't involve down here. I don't like the surface it sounds nasty," obviously now whatever illusions he had of the surface were crushed by what he'd heard from Lily.

"The surface?" she suddenly realized what he was talking about, "you mean up there? It's great up there!" she said defensively in a confrontational tone, like this little boy who'd NEVER been there would know. The surface had been her home, a GOOD home to her and she was surface born, "Of course this place had nothing to do with that war, this stupid city is all drowned under the water."

"It didn't drown," it was Rune's turn to be annoyed and defensive of his home, "it was BUILT underwater as a san-cat-to-ary away from the surface 'cause the surface is bad."

Rune had thought that might make Lily understand a bit better but she just started laughing at the idea that there was nowhere better to build a city than under the sea, "And why would anyone need to go away from the surface? I came from there and its FAR better than here!"

Lily didn't for a moment contemplate what made her own Daddy to foreswear any contact with the surface and abandon it altogether.

"Because the surface is mean," he said simply as if that was a good enough argument, it certainly wasn't an argument that anyone down here would dispute. A majority still agreed with Mr Ryan and those that didn't agree wouldn't argue for fear of repercussions. On the rare days that his Mother took him out, she'd taken him to Ryan's Amusements and as a child he believed everything he heard.

"And you would know because you've been up there and seen and heard and felt it? At least I've been up there and down here TOO before I say anything bad about things I don't know about."

"I've heard stories," Rune had heard MORE than his share of stories but Lily made him doubt, more than he wanted to admit, stories couldn't really compare to firsthand experiences and perceptions which made him second guess himself. Lily made him feel flustered too because he wanted her to think well of him, he wasn't sure why, he just wanted her to like him, "Rapture isn't so bad," he said in an attempt to recover but it was honestly something he believed, his Mother had always shielded him from the worst parts of Rapture

"How do you know they are real stories? And you miss all of the purty stuff on the surface too like the sun and the sky and laying in grass!"

"Cause of Mr. Ryan. He owns Rapture and he's an adult! Adults don't tell lies!"

Lily, of course, decided to argue, "People die down here too! Lots of people like BAD people lie and there are bad people here just like there are bad people up there!"

"Mr. Ryan isn't bad. Why would he be bad an' lie?" she sounded affronted because everything he knew he'd learned from Ryan Amusements AND what his mother had told him. Lily made him doubt some of what he'd learnt at the park but he had faith his Mother wouldn't lie to him not the way Lily said everyone was.

"Are you calling me a liar? Even Daddy says its not safe here, he told me so before I came HERE!"

"Are you calling ME a liar?" he countered, he folded his arms and felt like he was in a truly bad mood now and wanted nothing to do with the infuriating, opinionated, outspoken little girl beside him. He folded his arms with a huff, "Maeve! Can I leave the table?"

Before he could get an answer he hopped off his chair, leaving the table to go to his room in a fit of temper.

* * *

><p>Reox had come, a lot earlier than Maeve thought he would, on the downside she didn't look nearly as good as she wanted to for him but on the upside she knew he had time to spare. With Rune and Lily safely occupied at the table she took the opportunity to engage in some light conversation with him until they both heard yelling from the table. Maeve rose to see what the commotion was about when Rune bypassed her legs in a rush to the solace of his bedroom. Lily sat at the table not looking in the least bit innocent but she also looked at Maeve as if daring her to blame it on her, the girl carefully avoided her Father's gaze though.<p>

Maeve knew that if she was going to take care of Lily she should lay down the law otherwise the girl was going to rebel against her authority while Daddy was gone but she didn't want to jump to conclusions and blame everything on Lily when she didn't have the complete picture of just what had gone on between the two. As a parent she wanted to immediately go after Rune and give him someone to turn to. She glanced apologetically at Reox this was not the kind of thing she wanted him to see where everyone was upset before he even left, "Give me a moment with Rune before you leave wont you? Rune!" she called for him as she approached his bedroom.

She found him sprawled out on the floor, his back to the door as he played with a toy truck on the floor. She closed the door and her tone was gentle, soothing as could be, "Come on, tell me what happened."

"Lily said everything about Rapture is a big lie and the surface is better than down here."

Maeve sighed, a fight like this was not to be unexpected, they were children who were both raised in very different environments wrought with fear. On the surface it was fear of nuclear war and in Rapture it was fear of the surface. She sat down on the floor next to Rune, the volume of her voice soft, "Rune," there was the barest hint of a reproach in her voice, I told you that Lily has had a long and hard journey down here. You remember don't you? She isn't going to see the surface for its bad parts when she was raised there, that was her home. You certainly didn't like it when she was insulting your home here in Rapture but now Rapture is her home as well and we should be helping her get used to it down here. Okay?"

"I know," he said softly, now remembering that she had said something to the effect of making sure to be nice to Lily so she wouldn't feel lonely or unwelcome, "was she tellin' the truth?"

Maeve froze, unsure of what to say, once upon a time she would have told him 'no' that Rapture was everything Ryan said it was but Rapture was changing before her eyes. She wanted to protect Rune but she couldn't do that if she kept him blind to it. Maeve pulled Rune into her lap, cuddling him close as she spoke in an undertone to him, "No, she isn't but she's not entirely wrong either. There are always going to be bad things and bad people no matter where you go to escape them, they'll follow you. Some things that seem good are not always so, sometimes they are 'too good to be true'. You must always be on your guard so you can't be swindled or cheated. That can even happen down here. Rapture is meant to be the greatest city ever built but even it has its evils. Rune, you maybe younger than Lily but she has had considerable time up on the surface. I'm counting on you to show her Rapture at its best so she can be happy here. She doesn't know and hasn't seen how good this city can be. You have a great opportunity to be her guide and shape how she views this city and even how she views you. Just keep an open mind. For Lily it's bad enough that she had to move down here after a live spent living above but she also had her Mother die. It's not surprising she should be upset, she has experienced a lot of change in a short amount of time."

Rune was quiet as he listened to his mother with rapt attention, he was young but already he felt bad for picking a fight with Lily. Despite the disagreements between them Rune already felt a certain fondness for his new playmate. Lily was one of the few children his mother let him be around and she wasn't at all like any other child in Rapture. He wasn't sure if her being different was a good or bad thing but it certainly intriguing, "I'll do my best," he promised, hoping to make her proud.

Maeve smiled down at him, proud as she gave him a firm embrace, "That is all I ask of you."

Rune smiled back, throwing his arms around her and after taking a quick glance around he whispers, "Okay Mommy," making sure that only she could hear him.

Maeve smiles brightly, she had never seen herself destined for motherhood until Reox and now that she had Rune all her doubts were swept away. It was the most natural thing in the world, no matter how messed up it was, to love this child even if she hid him from everyone.

* * *

><p>"Lily?" Reox took a seat down beside her, his tone was questioning but not disapproving, he was not angry with her, "What were you and Rune talking about?"<p>

Lily glanced at him, her gaze was avoidant but when she answered she sounded miserable, "The surface," she sounded truly homesick, "he talks like everything is so bad up there but he doesn't know anything and he goes on about how its so great here but it's not and I hate it!"

And then the tears started again. Reox knew that Lily continued to be unhappy; she didn't cry nonstop but off and on she would give in to her sorrow and express it. It was almost enough to make him feel guilty. If he was a better man he might've let her continue to live her life up on the surface, never knowing him or what she was missing but he wasn't that big a man. Lily was his and he had more of a 'right' to her than the Ashrends did. Once he found out about her, he had been unable to walk away from the chance to have her even if she was miserable down here, away from everything that was familiar to her in her life. He knew in time she'd adjust but it didn't make weathering her tears any easier.

Reox handed her a handkerchief and locked his fingers together, looking down at them, "It's bad everywhere, sad but true. Rune is young, younger than you and he doesn't know any better. You should try to get along with him alright?"

Lily had the grace to FEEL bad when he mentioned that she was older and she knew enough to knew that meant she should 'know better' and be a 'good example' to Rune and not mirror his childish behaviors, "Yes Daddy...," she took the handkerchief and started to wipe at her tears

Her homesickness was not a surprise to him, it was natural to feel and he understood exactly how she felt. When he'd first come down for the longest time he had longed to go back to surface even though he knew it held nothing for him after he lost Lila to another man. For him the impulse and desire passed with time and he knew Lily needed time too, she would adjust just as he had. Still he felt obligated to tell her more than 'you are down here, deal with it'.

"Lily, it isn't all bad down here just like its not all bad on the surface. You just haven't seen the much better side of this place yet. I know its hard for you right now and you're homesick but it will pass. I felt the same way when I first came down here."

"But Daddy, why DID you come down here?"

Reox froze though he wasn't surprised by the question. He knew eventually she would ask him 'why?' but he wasn't sure if he was ready to tell her the truth or if he'd ever would be. Reox sighed, hoping she wouldn't press for it, the truth would depress both their moods even further, "It's a long story, Lily."

As she waited for his answer her eyes had been on him but when he put off the answer, her eyes fell and she looked away, "Oh...okay," her tone indicating that she knew he didn't have time for a long story. The disconsolate tone of her voice made her seem even more vulnerable and alone.

It wasn't the answer she wanted but with Lily around thoughts and memories of Lila always strayed close to the surface. Speaking of the reason for his flight from the surface would be like opening those wounds all over again, "I will tell you this...I came down here for a new life and you are a part of it now. You will get used to this place Lily, I promise," he embraced her tightly and was glad to see she was smiling a bit when he pulled away. As he pulled back he also noticed a young boy idling in the shadows of the hallway, one eye peeking around a corner to the spot where Lily stood. His gaze held rapt fascination and it wasn't hard for Reox to believe that one day the boy may fancy Lily and pursue her. Reox gently turned Lily's attention to the boy with a few choice words, "I think someone wants to talk to you."

Lily glanced over in Rune's direction, she smoothed out her dress and nervously tucked her hair behind her ear before going over to him. For a moment she just stared at her feet but then she shyly looked back up at Rune, "I'm sorry I said those awful things," her green eyes slipping to hide beneath her eyelashes as she waited for him to reply.

Rune silently watched her before he looked to Maeve then back to Lily, "I'm sorry too," he uttered softly, "Can we be friends?"

Rune offered her his hand and Lily proffered her own, he gave it a vigorous shake that seem to surprise her. The exchange seemed to cheer Rune up, he was obviously happy they were no longer disagreeing.

* * *

><p>Reox left Maeve's in good spirits, Rune wasn't quite Lily's age but he seemed to have a good head on his shoulders. Reox hoped that the quiet boy would have a good influence on his headstrong daughter. His good mood was only soured by the fact he had a lawyer to hunt down. The lawyer that had accompanied Lily to oversee the legalities of her custody arrangements had left in search of Lily and while Reox had found her the lawyer was at large. He was a loose end that could be drawn back to him, and more importantly, to Lily...<p> 


End file.
